The
Indian Head gold pieces were two coin series struck by the
United States Mint: a two-and-a-half dollar piece, or
quarter eagle (1908–1915, 1925–1929), and a five-dollar coin, or
half eagle (1908–1916, 1929). The only US coins with recessed (engraved) designs ever to enter circulation, they were the last of a long series of coins in those denominations.
President Theodore Roosevelt advocated for new coin designs, and had the Mint engage his friend, the sculptor
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to design coins that could be changed without congressional authorization. The sculptor completed an
eagle ($10 piece) and
double eagle before his death in 1907. Roosevelt convinced Mint Director
Frank A. Leach to reproduce the eagle's design on both of the smaller coins, but recessed below the background. The job fell to Boston sculptor
Bela Pratt, and after some difficulty, the Mint was able to strike the coins, though Pratt was unhappy with modifications made by the Mint's engravers. The quarter eagle enjoyed popularity as a Christmas present, but neither coin circulated much. This photograph shows the obverse (left) and reverse (right) of a quarter eagle coin struck in 1908, which is in the
National Numismatic Collection at the
National Museum of American History.
Coin design credit: United States Mint; photographed by Jaclyn Nash
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