$2.50 Indian Gold Coin Description
Sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt was recommended to President Theodore Roosevelt by his good friend Dr. William S. Bigelow to design the $2.50 and
$5 Indian Head gold coins. Although Pratt was not as renowned as his mentor,
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to some it seemed logical to entrust the two gold coins to a younger, more contemporary artist.
Design of the $2.50 Indian Gold Coin
The coin obverse pictures an Indian Chief, the first true American Indian ever to appear on United States coinage. Previously, Caucasian models dressed in American Indian attire were used. The chief on the Indian Head is wearing a full-feathered headdress with the word 'Liberty' inscribed on the headband. A border of thirteen stars and the minting date encircle him.
The reverse of the $2.50 coin features a proud bald eagle standing among olive branches, surrounded by the words 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'. The motto 'In God We Trust', and the denomination also appear on the reverse.
$2.50 Indian Coin Minting Information
What sets the $2.5 and $5 Indian Head gold coins apart from other United States coins is that they were the first (and only) U.S. gold coins to use the technique known as incuse relief. This technique gives the design elements and lettering a sunken-in appearance on a uniformly flat plane. This technique caused some controversy during its time in circulation, before modern medicine, people thought that the sunken design of the coin would act as a breeding ground of disease.
| Detailed Information for the $2.50 Indian Gold Coin |
| Coin Designer: Bela Lyon Pratt |
| Gross Weight: 4.18g |
Gold Content: 0.12094 oz. |
| Composition: 90% gold, 10% copper |
| Coin Diameter: 18mm |
Coin Edge: Reeded |
| Dates: 1908-15; 1925-29 |
| U.S. Mint Branches: Denver (1911; 1914; 1925), Philadelphia (all dates) |
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