Lot 1514
1916-S $5 Indian. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. A well struck and very choice example, intensely lustrous and untoned. A Premium Quality coin for the grade. Bela Lyon Pratt's Indian head design was launched in 1908. Not unexpectedly, the public was shocked (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 a made-up Greek goddess wearing an Indian headdress. And because of this, his design has endured because of its artistic merit (PCGS # 8532) .
Estimated Value $7,000 - 7,500.
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| Realized $7,475 |
