1908 $2.50 (1908 Quarter Eagle) NGC PF67. This matte proof Indian head 1908 Quarter Eagle has original mustard colored surfaces and nearly complete knife-rims on both sides. The coin is virtually mark-free, as expected for the grade. The strike is, of course, full with every detail of the design readily apparent. The beautiful coin is a close to perfection as you can get for a proof coin of this date.

The new Indian Head quarter eagle was put into production in 1908. Theodore Roosevelt, who had become president as a result of McKinleys assassination in 1901 and was in his second term of office, believed that it was time to reform all United States coinage, which in his opinion was atrociously hideous. He wanted to put into place his pet crime to improve coinage designs by bypassing the mediocre Mint Engraver, Charles Barber. Earlier Roosevelt prevailed on the world-renown sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to remake the gold eagle and double eagle coins. Now, influenced by Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow, a friend and art connoisseur, Roosevelt agreed to have Bela Lyon Pratt redesign the gold half eagle and quarter eagle. Roosevelt got the idea of making the coins incuse, like certain ancient Egyptian coins. Certainly this new design would make them different from the coinage that preceded.

The incuse design was an innovation never previously used on circulating United States coinage. It was criticized by people in banking and numismatics. They felt that the new coins could be easily counterfeited, wouldnt stack easily, and were unsanitary because dirt would remain in the incused features. However, as a whole, the public was indifferent to the new coins, and they remained in production and circulation until 1929, when the Great Depression caused economic upheaval.

Pratt was an accomplished sculptor and medal maker. A former student of Saint-Gaudens and the Ecole des Beau Arts in Paris, he became an instructor at the Boston Museum School. Prominent among his works were a medal for the President of Harvard University and a bicentennial medal for Yale University. In addition to medals, he also made busts and other sculptures. In 1915 he won a gold medal for an exhibit of seventeen pieces at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in California.

The series was minted from 1908 to 1915 and then from 1925 to 1929. During these years and until the Great Recall of 1933, the coins circulated in commerce. They were often used as birthday and Christmas gifts. Circulated coins are often seen with rubbed spots on the high points. Since they were also used extensively for jewelry, one should be aware of traces of solder or evidence of its removal. Imperfect reeding might indicate this problem, and doubtful coins should be authenticated. Authentication is also recommended for the key coin, the 1911-D, because a number of counterfeits have been seen. Sometimes a 1911 Philadelphia minted coin will have a D mintmark added. In uncirculated grades, the 1911-D is ten times more costly than the plain issue. (All USRCI coins are guaranteed genuine and authenticated by one of the major grading services.)

Another innovation is Pratts use of realism in the obverse design. In 1899 a portrait of Running Antelope was used on the five dollar silver certificate. Pratt continued this trend by using a realistic portrait of an Indian brave for his emblem of liberty, as required by law. Although his name and tribe are unknown, the motif is a striking departure from the Indian head designs of the past that used stylized busts with fanciful headdresses to be emblematic of liberty. Above the portrait on the obverse is the word LIBERTY and below is the date. Six stars are on the left and seven are on the right. For the reverse, Pratt borrowed from his mentors eagle coin and chose the standing eagle motif. The magnificent eagle stands on a bundle of arrows that look like fasces, the Roman symbol of the power to kill, and the olive branch, symbolizing peace. Pratt placed all four inscriptions are on the reverse without it seeming too crowded. E PLURIBUS UNUM is in the left field and IN GOD WE TRUST is in the right. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, separated by dots, arcs above the eagle, and the denomination written as 2 DOLLARS is below. Because it the highest point on the reverse, the mintmark shows wear before any other part of the coin.

The matte texture of the coin proved unpopular with the public, who were used to the high contrast proof finishes of the previous design. Today they are coveted by those familiar with the series. The 1908 Proof quarter eagle had an original mintage of 236. It is fundamentally rare in all conditions. In its population report, NGC shows the present piece tied for best in a group of 28 pieces with 0 better. At PCGS there are 2 in PF66 with 0 better, and these numbers do not account for resubmissions or crossovers.