Lot 1535
1908-1929 Complete Set of $2.50 Indians in NGC MS-63. A beautiful well matched set, each NGC graded MS-63. The key date 1911-D shows a nice strong mint mark. It is rare to find a nice set of these intriguing coins, especially with a choice Uncirculated 1911-D, the show-stopper that always stops the collector from completing his set. Lot of 15 coins.
The obverse of this type portrays Brule Lakota Chief Hollow Horn Bear, who had taken part in Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade, March 4, 1905. The Chief died March 15, 1913, age 54, at Providence Hospital, according to the notice in the April 1913 Numismatist, which misidentified him as the model for the 1899 $5 Silver Certificates. His identity as Boston sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt's model for the 1908 Quarter Eagles and half eagles first came to light in an exhibit in the 1988 ANA Convention.
When Bela Lyon Pratt's new Indian head motif was launched upon the American scene in 1908, the public was traumatized (to put it mildly). Never before in American numismatics had a coin designer broken with tradition in such an overt way as did Pratt. For what Pratt did was to recess the design below the surface of the coin! Forget the fact that his half eagles and quarter eagles were far more aesthetically challenging than the long-running and tired-appearing Liberty heads they replaced. Unlike his predecessors, Pratt chose to honor a real American Indian for a change, not some made-up Greek goddess wearing an incongruous Indian headdress. And because of this, his design helped to propel American coin design into the World Class league.
Estimated Value $34,000 - 36,000.
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| Realized $31,050 |
