Numismatic

1913 $2.50 Indian Gold Quarter Eagle MS-63 PCGS

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The 1913 gold quarter eagle represents a fascinating departure from traditional coin design. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint, this issue is notable for its recessed, sunken engraving, a technique known as incuse relief. Because it was produced at the main facility, it bears no mint mark, standing as one of 722,000 such pieces minted that year. Each coin is composed of 90 percent gold, containing 0.1209 troy ounces of the precious metal. On the obverse, a dignified Native American figure wearing a traditional feathered headdress faces left. This central portrait is encircled by thirteen stars representing the original colonies, with the word LIBERTY arching above and the 1913 date positioned below. The design was created by the sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt, who broke away from classical allegorical representations of Liberty. The reverse displays a proud bald eagle perched on a bundle of arrows wrapped in an olive branch. The inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination of 2 1/2 DOLLARS frame the eagle. The traditional mottos E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST are nested in the open fields around the bird, completing a highly detailed and tactile piece of American coinage.