Indian Head Gold Coins
Indian head gold coins have an interesting history, somewhat mired in controversy and are interesting collectors' pieces today.
The Background
Indian head gold pieces were two identical gold coins, struck by the US mint as a 5-dollar coin (the half eagle) and a 2.5-dollar piece (the quarter eagle). The quarter eagle coin was struck for the first time between 1908 and 1915 and then a second phase of manufacture began in 1925. The half eagle was struck between 1908 and 1916 and then manufactured again in 1929.
These coins are the only two of the United States' circulating gold coins that have a recessed design and they were the final ones struck for circulation in those denominations.
Roosevelt's Role
President Roosevelt was behind the newer versions of coin. His friend, Dr Sturgis Bigelow had spent most of 1907 in Japan. Upon his return he received an early example of the double eagle St. Gaudens coin from Senator Henry Lodge. Bigelow wrote to Roosevelt in 1908, praising the coins and explaining that he was working with a Boston-based sculptor to create coins that could be struck in high relief to allow easy stacking, protecting them from wear. Roosevelt was interested and a prototype was soon available. He didn't tell the mint of the new plans, however!
Controversy Surrounds the New Coins
The newly released coins, the double eagle and eagle, had led to real controversy as they'd omitted the 'In God We Trust' motto. With Congress preparing to mandate the use of the motto, the work on the coins was suspended for a period. Pratt continued to work on the designs and started using a photo of an unidentified male Indian from his own collection, rather than the Liberty Statue image. He sent a version to Bigelow to pass onto Roosevelt and the two met with the director of the mint, with the President showing enthusiasm about the newly proposed coin.
Thanks to the meeting, the new coin began to be manufactured, although controversy and legal wrangling about the change of the design still continued. Genuine changes of design couldn't be made for a 25-year period without incurring an Act of Congress. However, the mint accepted the minor 'tweaks' and the new coins began to be produced.
The Designs
The quarter eagle and the half eagle were identical, both with sunken designs. The reverse side shows the image of a Native American man, standing to face the left and wearing a headdress. The initials, BLP, are just above the date and on the other side of the coin there is an image of an eagle standing on a pile of arrows with an olive branch in its left talon. To the left of the arrows, the mintmark is found.
Problems Continue
Half eagle production dies were sent to mints in San Francisco and Denver. However, they found real difficulties in correctly striking the new pieces. The resulting coins, once the problems were solved, were thinner than their predecessors of the same denomination, due to the raised field above the design. This caused additional problems with sorting machines, which couldn't reliably cope with the mix of old and new coins of different thickness.
The new gold coins properly entered circulation in 1908 but again, there was some negative comment, including criticisms that the coins could easily be counterfeited, weren't attractive, didn't stack easily and could harbour germs thanks to their indentations!
The Decline of the Indian Head Gold Coins
Both of the coins were struck every year until 1915 when bank notes began to be far more common, influenced by the East, where they were less keen on 'hard' money and preferred paper denominations. The gold coins became more popular as gifts or Christmas presents. Additionally, the economic unrest that resulted from World War I caused the price of gold to rocket, with gold coins disappearing from economic circulation and people hoarding them. For these reasons, once the war ended, gold didn't return into currency circulation and most of the gold coins struck were double eagles, used to back gold certificates and for international trade only.
Gold coins ceased to be issued by 1933. Today, there are fifteen different Indian head gold coins (quarter eagles), recognised by their mintmark and date and they are of varying quality, many having been greatly circulated. Twenty-four pieces of the half eagle series are still in existence.
Today
Indian head gold coins are collectors' pieces today and attract sums far in excess of their face value, due to their history and heritage. They tend to be traded on the specialist bullion market and are greatly in demand by a certain type of investor and collector.