Saturday 19th May 2012

Indian Head $5 Half Eagle 1908-1929

Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow, a physician, close friend of President Roosevelt, art collector from Boston and an admirer of Egyptian reliefs convinced President Roosevelt that the use of sunken designs on American Coins was a good idea. Since the Liberty Head quarter eagle had been minted since 1840 and the Liberty Head half eagle since 1839, they seemed good candidates for redesign.

Vital Stats. Designer: Bela Lyon Pratt Content: 90% gold 10% copper Diameter: 21.6 millimeters Edge: Reeded Weight: 8.24 grams Mint Mark Location: Left of the arrowheads on the reverse.

Half Eagle Indian Head Mint Mark Example Note: All 1915-D are counterfeit Saint-Gaudens died in 1907, so Bigelow apparently contacted and persuaded Bela Lyon Pratt, a fellow Bostonian and former student of Saint-Gaudens to create a design for the gold coins. Pratt used Smillie's portrait of a Sioux Chief on the 1899 $5 silver certificate. The reverse displayed a standing eagle which was a virtual copy of the design Saint-Gaudens had used on both a Roosevelt inaugural medal and the Indian Head eagle.

In spite of the fact that the sunken design (with devices and legends below the fields) promised to reduce wear on the features, Philadelphia coin dealer Samuel H. Chapman and others vigorously opposed the design. Their argument was that the recessed areas would collect dirt and thus become a disease source. Still others found fault with both the portrait and the eagle. They also claimed that the coins were easy to counterfeited. Some even argued the (rimless and flat) coins would not stack properly. They did not sway the President, and the new design was implemented.

Matte proofs were made from 1908 through 1915, but only a few hundred examples have been certified. The reason for this is that the matte finish was not popular with collectors at the time, and many unsold pieces were melted at the Mint.