Lot 1424
1908 $2.50 Indian. NGC graded Proof 66. Wonderful uniform honey-color throughout. Only 236 proofs struck. Mintages ballooned in 1910 to 682, nevertheless, not many have been found in gem condition. In fact, NGC has graded just 20 this high with 2 graded higher, while PCGS notes only 6 as PR-66, and none higher. Hence, this is certainly one of a select group which is among the finest known of the date. No signs of handling marks and the surfaces are quite well preserved. The only faint disturbance would be a couple of nearly invisible hairlines, mostly above the eagle in the fields. Don't expect to find a better one, as this is a really beautiful, and superb coin. Perfectly struck and a visual masterpiece of Bella Lyon Pratt's incuse design. Pop 41; 30 finer, 29 in 67, 1 in 67+ (PCGS # 7957) .
History Lesson for Today: The obverse 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 true 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; we have not yet learned who was the exhibitor. The raised flat fields of the new design meant that Proofs would have to be in one of the French matte finishes. Proofs (1908-15) were not as familiar to collectors as the brilliant Proofs of former designs, especially because they were darker and duller than business strikes; many were mistakenly spent, others melted in later years as unsold.
Estimated Value $23,000 - 24,000.
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| Realized $29,900 |
