1909 Indian Quarter Eagle, NGC PF66. An extremely rare issue in proof, with only 139 pieces minted, 3rd lowest for the proof series. After the matte proofs of 1908, this was the first year that the Mint produced these coins with a Roman Gold Finish. Although the first year of issue had a mintage that was twice as large as the 1909, both finishes were not popular with collectors of the time. As a result, a substantial number remained unsold 1909s were later melted. These pieces with a Roman Gold finish are described by Breen in his Encyclopedia as follows:

Proofs (twice as rare as 1908) have light satiny (Roman Gold) finish halfway between matte and mirrored; they normally show knife-rims

As well as the matte proofs, this finish was unpopular with collectors as well. Because of the lack of reflectivity, these pieces were easily confused with business strikes and did not offer the bonus to collectors that bought these proof coins as a premium. As a result, in 1911, the Mint finally changed to the so-called Sandblasted proofs, and produced those until the final year of proof Indian quarter eagles in 1915.

Modern research has concluded that only an estimated 55 to 65 pieces are known in all proof grades. Most are in lower numerical grades, and gem and finer pieces are extremely rare. To date, NGC has graded three in PF-66, three in PF-67 and one in PF-68. It is most likely that even these numbers include one or two resubmissions, which would make this the absolute most difficult proof Indian quarter to find above the gem level. The population reports have been influenced by many resubmissions in hope of a higher grade, and thus are not really accurate for determining the true rarity of these pieces.

The present piece is one of the finest known for this issue. All characteristics as described above are visible, including the tell tale knife-rims. The gold is a wonderful light yellow color, originally toned to a lovely olive-green gold in the fields on the reverse. As can be expected for a proof coin produced for collectors, no real imperfections are evident on either side, nor are any prominent hairlines visible. A very rare opportunity to obtain one of the major key dates in the Proof Indian Gold Quarter Eagle series.