Numismatic

1909 $2.50 Indian Gold Quarter Eagle AU

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The 1909 gold quarter eagle represents a fascinating departure from traditional American coinage. Struck by the United States Mint, this coin features an incuse design, meaning the details are sunken into the flat surface of the metal rather than raised above it. This unusual technique gives the coin a distinctively modern, tactile quality that sets it apart from almost all other historic U.S. issues. On the obverse, a Native American chief wearing a traditional feathered war bonnet faces left, surrounded by thirteen stars representing the original colonies. The word LIBERTY is inscribed along the top curve, with the date 1909 positioned at the bottom. Just above the date, the tiny initials B.L.P. credit the designer, Bela Lyon Pratt. This portrait was a bold shift from the classic, idealized female representations of Liberty that dominated earlier American currency. The reverse displays a proud bald eagle perched on a bundle of arrows, which are wrapped in an olive branch. The inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and IN GOD WE TRUST surround the central figure. The denomination is clearly marked at the bottom as 2 1/2 DOLLARS. This specific coin is composed of 90 percent gold, containing 0.12094 troy ounces of the precious metal, and has survived in Almost Uncirculated condition.