Description:
The early part of the 20th century was a time of great creativity in the design of U.S. coinage. August Saint-Gaudens’ double eagle was introduced in 1907, along with his Indian Head eagle. Victor D. Brenner’s Lincoln cent, commemorating in 1909 the centennial of the President’s birth, broke new ground- it was the first use of a presidential portrait on a circulating coin. A few years later, in 1913, James Earl Fraser’s Indian Head, or Buffalo, nickel was introduced, followed shortly thereafter in 1916 by Adolf A. Weinman’s Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) dime and Liberty Walking half dollar and Hermon A. MacNeil’s Standing Liberty quarter. In the same time period, the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition produced several silver and gold commemoratives, including the Charles E. Barber/ George T. Morgan allegorical quarter eagle (one of Barber’s most creative works), and Robert Aitken’s equally symbolic round and octagonal fifty dollar gold pieces. Following the acclaim received for Saint-Gaudens’ stunning efforts on the ten and twenty dollar gold pieces, President Theodore Roosevelt turned his attention to the other two gold denominations, the quarter eagle and the half eagle (production of one dollar gold coins ended in 1889).
Photos used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries
The Liberty Head quarter eagle had been minted since 1840, the Liberty Head half eagle since 1839. Saint-Gaudens died in 1907, and though he had done some work for the smaller denomination gold coins, the designs for the two denominations remained unfinished. Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow, a physician and art collector from Boston, had admired Egyptian reliefs displayed in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. A close friend of President Roosevelt, Bigelow promoted the idea of using a sunken design on American coins, and Roosevelt agreed. Bigelow apparently contacted and persuaded a fellow Bostonian and former student of Saint-Gaudens, sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt, to create designs for the gold coins. Pratt used the same portrait on both denominations, a realistic image of a native American chief. The reverse displayed a bold standing eagle, a virtual copy of and perhaps tribute to the design Saint-Gaudens had used both on a Roosevelt inaugural medal and the Indian Head eagle. The use of an Indian on the coin followed the appearance of G.F.C. Smillie’s portrait of a Sioux Chief on the 1899 $5 silver certificate, but the imagery may also have been recognition of Roosevelt’s frontier heritage.
Not everyone approved of the designs, however, and Philadelphia coin dealer Samuel H. Chapman was one of the most vigorous in opposition. The incuse design, with devices and legends below the fields of the coin, promised to reduce wear on the features, but some thought the recessed areas would collect dirt and thus become a disease source. Others found fault with both the portrait and the eagle, though Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber, ever conscious of the technical necessities of coin production, had modified Pratt’s original eagle design. Claims that the coins could be easily counterfeited or wouldn’t stack properly (an odd comment given the fact that the coins were rimless and had no design high points above the flat field) did not sway the President, and the new design was implemented. The Indian Head quarter eagle was minted yearly though 1915, after which production stopped, and then again from 1925 through 1929, an apparent victim of the economic stress following the stock market crash of that year.
The obverse is dominated by a left-facing somewhat determined portrait of a native American chief wearing a full-feathered war bonnet. LIBERTY is at the top, and the date at the bottom. Six five-point stars are placed to the left along the coin edge, and seven to the right. The designer’s initial, B.L.P. are located below the portrait and above the date. The reverse displays a standing eagle facing to the left, perched upon a bundle of arrows with an entwined olive branch. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, the words separated by centered dots, is at the top, and the denomination 2 ? DOLLARS is at the bottom. E PLURIBUS UNUM, each word on a separate line, is to the left of the eagle, IN GOD WE TRUST, also with each word on a separate line, is to the right. Indian Head quarter eagles were minted at Philadelphia and Denver; the D mintmark is located just to the left of the arrowheads. All design features except the D mintmark are incuse, recessed below the field, with no design elements higher than that flat surface.
Tens of thousands of business strike Indian Head quarter eagles have been certified per date, though counts are higher for the examples produced in the 1920s. Prices are modest for most dates through MS62, expensive to Gem, and very expensive finer; 1914 pieces are very expensive as MS62 and finer. The 1911-D, considered a key date, is expensive to XF40, very expensive to MS64, and extremely expensive as Gem and finer. Matte proofs were made from 1908 through 1915, and a few hundred examples have been certified. The matte finish was not popular with collectors at the time of issue, and many unsold pieces were later melted by the Mint. Indian Head quarter eagle proofs are expensive, very expensive as Select proof and finer.
Specifications:
Designer: Bella Lyon Pratt, reverse possibly influenced by the designs of Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Circulation Mintage: high 722,000 (1913), low 55,680 (1911-D)
Proof Mintage: high 682 (1910), low 100 (1915; none produced after 1915)
Denomination: $2.50
Diameter: 18 mm, reeded edge
Metal Content: 90% gold, 10% copper
Weight: 4.18 grams
Varieties: None identified except for the 1911-D, Weak D, referring to a faint mintmark impression.
Additional Resources:
CoinFacts: www.coinfacts.com
Coin Encyclopedia: www.ngccoin.com
Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795-1933, Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth, Whitman Publishing.
A Handbook of 20th Century United States Gold Coins 1907-1933. David Akers/ Jeff Ambio. Zyrus Press.
The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. R.S Yeoman (author), Kenneth Bressett (editor). Whitman Publishing.
A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Ron Guth and Jeff Garrett. Whitman Publishing.
The Experts Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins. Q. David Bowers. Whitman Publishing.
The U.S. Mint and Coinage. Don Taxay. Arco Publishing
Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Walter Breen. Doubleday.
