The 1908-D has a relatively low mintage of 148,000 pieces. Nonetheless, enough examples have returned from overseas bank vaults to allow collectors of the series to select a Mint State representative. The issue becomes scarce in Choice condition, and Gems are very rare.
The NGC population is only 7 with none graded higher.
Listed at $27,350 in the CDN CPG and $27,500 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $19,690
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Collectors will find the 1908 to be among the most plentiful Indian half eagles in Gem and better condition, even while some other dates such as the 1909-D are more available overall. The higher Gem population of the 1908 is due to the first-year-of-issue status of this date, which historically resulted in more widespread preservation of examples due to the novelty of the new design. Even so, the 1908 Indian is conditionally rare in MS66, and just a handful of finer pieces are known.
The economic uncertainties of World War I caused the U.S. Mint to drastically curtail the production of gold coins during that conflict. As a result, the 1915 Indian eagle was the last ten-dollar gold piece struck at the Philadelphia Mint until 1926. The mintage for the 1915 issue was 351,075, and the coins were generally well-produced. This Gem exhibits sharply detailed design elements in most areas, with just a touch of the usual softness on the eagle’s shoulder. The extremely well preserved golden-orange surfaces exhibit vibrant mint luster on both sides of this eye-appealing example.
The PCGS population is 11 with 7 graded higher.
Listed at $19,800 in the CDN CPG and $27,500 in the PCGS price guide.
Offered at $18,500
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The 1913 half eagle is usually glossed over in references and discussions on Indian Head gold. With a mintage of more than 915,000 coins, the date is plentiful in most grades and is only considered scarce in Gem condition. But perhaps that is a mistake. The date may be plentiful, but it is often fully struck and lustrous — the perfect type coin. It is also underappreciated in the top grade — not MS65, but MS66.
The PCGS population is only 5 with 2 graded higher.
Listed at $22,500 in the PCGS price guide.
Offered at $15800
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The New Orleans Mint was the only Southern branch to resume coinage operations following the Civil War. Interestingly, its survival as a minting facility can be attributed in part to the same legislation that brought about the coinage of millions of unneeded standard silver dollars. The Bland-Allison Act of February 1878, called for the Treasury Department to purchase monthly 2 to 4 million dollars worth of silver bullion, and to have it coined into new silver dollars which would largely be stored in government vaults. The sudden demand in coinage operations mandated by the law virtually necessitated the reopening of the branch mint in New Orleans, which resumed coinage operations in 1879.
However, the New Orleans Mint’s days were nonetheless numbered. In 1904, coinage of Morgan silver dollars was discontinued and construction was begun on a modern, high-capacity branch mint in Denver, Colorado. Silver and gold coin production at the Louisiana branch dwindled after 1906, when the Denver Mint opened, and by 1909, the need for continued operations at the Southern facility was virtually dissolved. On April 1, of that year, coinage was suspended, and in 1911, the dismantling of the outdated machinery was begun.
Coinage in the first three months of 1909, prior to operations suspension, consisted primarily of dimes, with more than 2.2 million pieces struck; quarter production amounted to only 712,000 coins, and halves to just 945,400 pieces. The only gold coinage at New Orleans in 1909, consisted of a paltry 34,200 half eagles. Interestingly, this was the first issue of this denomination struck there since 1894.
In addition to its popularity as the only O-mint issue of Pratt’s Indian Head type, the 1909-O half eagle is also a significant key date within the series. The 1929 is rarer in the absolute sense, but in Mint State, the 1909-O is the less often seen coin.
Offered at $16,700 delivered
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