Indian Gold Quarter Eagles – $2.50
Due to President Roosevelt’s boredom with the small gold coinage designs that had existed for almost a generation and all looked very similar, the Indian Quarter Eagle was born and replaced the Liberty Quarter Eagle that had been in circulation since 1840. In this new Quarter Eagle Design, the elements of the coin are incused (sunk) into the coin whereas all other coins had their designs raised.
The Indian Quarter Eagle had a short lifespan – it was only minted for 13 years between 1908 and 1933. This coupled with high mintages has made this coin a very easy coin to collect and complete a set. Overall, they can be purchased at reasonable prices with only one date consider a very “key” date – 1911-D. With a mintage of just over 55,000 coins out of the Denver Mint in 1911, the 1911-D is the rarest of them all and commands a healthy price. When searching for the 1911-D Indian Quarter Eagle there are two types to be on the lookout for – the “Strong D” and the “Weak D”. The “Strong D” commands a premium.
Strong D vs. Weak D 1911 Quarter Eagle
The most common 1911 Indian Quarter Eagle was minted in Philadelphia. The Denver mint produced a little over 55,000 thus making it the key date for the series. The Strong D version is easy to identify as the D is well pronounced on the reverse of the coin to the left of the arrow. The Weak D version may or may not have a visible D. There are two tricks to identifying the Weak D. First, the upper right portion of the obverse has a distinctive high wire rim that typically goes from about 11 o’clock to 3 o’clock. The second identifier is a small raised die line to the left of the arrows in the recessed portion of the coin.
Grading Indian Quarter Eagles
Indian Quarter Eagles are one of the toughest coins to grade due to the design elements of the coin. On the obverse you should pay particular attention to the feathers and the eyebrow. On the reverse, pay close attention to the Eagle’s shoulder when grading this Quarter Eagle.
You may be wondering why the Indian Quarter Eagle was only minted for 13 years? Well it was originally produced in 1908 and minted every year after that up to and including 1915. After 1915, production was halted and did not resume again until 1925. In 1929, following the stock market crash, the Indian Quarter Eagle’s production was once again halted. The word is that there was talk to eventually bring this gold coin back to production but as the Great Depression continued on, the Indian Quarter Eagle remained on the sidelines. Gold was demonetized in 1933 by the Federal Government thereby making it impossible for this beautiful coin to ever be minted again.