$5 Gold Half Eagle Indian Head - Ex Jewelry (Random Year)

Please note coins in Ex-Jewelry condition may exhibit signs of wear, including scratches, polishing, severe discoloration, and/or holes.

The $5 Gold Half Eagle Indian Head was minted using a rather innovative and daring technique for those times. The device of the coins has a sunken relief instead of the regularly raised relief. There is just one other coin with the same design in the entire United States coinage history and that is the $2.5 Gold Quarter Eagle Indian Head. Bela Lyon Pratt is the designer of both these coins. The Half Eagle was minted from 1908­-1929. This Pre­-1933 gold coin is popular for both its historical significance and numismatic value and is a highly desired coin in the numismatist world.

Coin Features:

• Contains .2419 Troy Oz of .900 fine gold.
• Eligible for Precious Metal IRA
• Ex-­Jewelry Condition.
• Obverse: Displays a leftward facing portrait of a realistic-­looking male Native American wearing a headdress in the center. The date, 13 stars, and the motto “LIBERTY” form a circle around this central device. Designed by Bela Lyon Pratt.
• Reverse: Features a majestic bald eagle perched on a bunch of arrows and holding an olive branch in its talon. Inscriptions: "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", "E PLURIBUS UNUM", "IN GOD WE TRUST", and the denomination “FIVE DOLLARS.” Designed by Bela Lyon Pratt
• Minted from 1908­-1929, dates and mint marks will be chosen randomly based on availability.
• U.S. Mint issue from the following mints: Philadelphia, Denver, New Orleans, San Francisco
• Individual coins will come in protective plastic flips. Multiples of 40 will come in protective plastic tubes.

It is a natural crowd reflex that a new out­-of-­the-­box idea is received with some criticism in the beginning. $5 Gold Half Eagle Indian Head was no different to it. Known to be made from a unique minting concept (it has a sunken relief compared to the regular raised designs) with great artistic value and immense practicality (easily stackable, high relief design, protects the device due to the sunken relief); yet, upon its release, the coin had to take a lot of flak from the public. But like the old adage, Fortune Favors the Brave, the coin survived through all the criticism and it is what it is today, the most popular and highly sought-after coin for its ingenious minting concept and high relief beauty.

When Theodore Roosevelt thought of introducing coins with great beauty to the American coinage, he had not even the slightest idea that his futuristic vision of the half eagle and quarter eagle will be criticized as ugly looking and doubted for sanitary conditions and health issues.

Augusts Saint-­Gaudens, the famous sculptor whose designs for Double Eagle and Eagle opened to rave reviews, had passed away before he could complete the designs for the Quarter and Half Eagles. While the officials at the mint were expecting that a scaled-down Double Eagle design will be used on the Half and Quarter Eagles, a whole new idea was brewing at President Theodore Roosevelt’s end. Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow, a physician from Boston and a good friend of the president who had been impressed by the Egyptian sunken relief designs found at the Boston museum was working along with a sculptor from Boston, Bela Lyon Pratt on using it on the American coins. When he wrote a letter about this to Theodore Roosevelt, the President, who is well known to try new ideas, immediately expressed interest in this.

Bela Lyon Pratt had used the Saint-­Gaudens’ Eagle Liberty Indian Head design as the base for his design. However, instead of using a female face as in the Eagle design, Bela used a male face for his design. He had designed a portrait of a realistic-looking Native American male wearing a detailed headdress in the sunken relief. The President liked the design and approved its mintage.

On the reverse, the coin features a majestic bald eagle perched on a bunch of arrows holding an olive branch in its talons symbolizing preparedness and peace.

This Gold Eagle Indian Head coin was minted from 1908 to 1916. In 1909 four different mints (Philadelphia, Denver, New Orleans, San Francisco) produced the coins with the mint marks on them. After 1916, the production of these coins was suspended for 13 years and once again were minted for just one last year, 1929 at the Philadelphia Mint. The half eagle series is longer than the Quarter Eagle series and has 24 pieces of data and mintmark.

A coin once shunned is now popular for its artistic value, unique sunken design, and historical significance. It is one of the most sought-­after coins by collectors and investors.

Bullion Exchanges is pleased to offer you the beautiful $5 Gold Half Eagle Indian Head coin at a very competitive price in the industry. Please feel free to check out our vast collection of Pre­-1933 Gold Coins today!

Feel free to contact us at 800­-852­-6884 if you have any questions in regards to Pre­-1933 gold coins.

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