The Indian $5 enlarges Bela Lyon Pratt's recessed portrait and eagle, creating a short twentieth-century series with distinctive wear and strike behavior.

This guide covers 1908–1929 half eagles from Philadelphia, Denver, New Orleans, and San Francisco.

Core specifications

Issue period
1908–1929
Catalog mints
4
Reported catalog mintage
14,079,242
Composition
90% Gold - 10% Copper
Diameter
21.6 mm
Weight
8.36 g

A modernized gold coin closes a long denomination era

Pratt's recessed design replaced the Liberty Head half eagle as part of the early twentieth-century artistic reform of U.S. coinage.

Production was concentrated before World War I, with a 1929 finale that ends regular classic half-eagle coinage.

Obverse, reverse, and the details that identify the type

Confirm the major design, date, and mint mark before studying smaller die differences.

The main portrait and date

A Native American portrait in feathered headdress faces left, with inscriptions and date recessed below the field.

Denomination, subject, and mint mark

A standing eagle rests on arrows and an olive branch; the mint mark appears to the left of the arrows when present.

Where the cataloged coins were made

Totals are calculated from reported issue records in this catalog; unknown figures are not counted as zero.

  • P — Philadelphia: 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1929; 5,927,982. Philadelphia issues commonly carry no P mint mark in classic series; confirm the expected blank area rather than searching for a letter.
  • D — Denver: 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1914; 4,084,660. Confirm the D mint mark together with its expected year, position, and issue format.
  • S — San Francisco: 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916; 4,032,400. Confirm the S mint mark together with its expected year, position, and issue format.
  • O — New Orleans: 1909; 34,200. Confirm the O mint mark together with its expected year, position, and issue format.

Representative issues that explain the series

A date-and-mint set is compact but includes the scarce 1909-O and difficult 1929; type collectors can focus on a sharp, original example.

  • 1908 S — 82,000. Open the issue page and read this record together with its type, mint, finish, and grade context.
  • 1909 O — 34,200. Open the issue page and read this record together with its type, mint, finish, and grade context.
  • 1911 D — 72,500. Open the issue page and read this record together with its type, mint, finish, and grade context.
  • 1914 S — 263,000. Open the issue page and read this record together with its type, mint, finish, and grade context.
  • 1929 P — 662,000. Open the issue page and read this record together with its type, mint, finish, and grade context.

Issue catalog

1908 P Indian $51908 D Indian $51908 S Indian $51909 P Indian $51909 D Indian $51909 O Indian $51909 S Indian $51910 P Indian $51910 D Indian $51910 S Indian $51911 P Indian $51911 D Indian $51911 S Indian $51912 P Indian $51912 S Indian $51913 P Indian $51913 S Indian $51914 P Indian $51914 D Indian $51914 S Indian $51915 P Indian $51915 S Indian $51916 S Indian $51929 P Indian $5

From one type coin to a complete catalog

  • One representative coin: Choose one problem-free, readable example and learn the size, edge, and major design.
  • Major-type set: Use one coin per major design to show changes in artwork, composition, or production.
  • Dates and mints: Work through the issue catalog by date and mint, defining special finishes separately.

A note on catalog records

This page uses 24 issue records, 0 modeled varieties, and currently reported mintages; unknown values remain unknown.

Sources

  1. Gold Eagle Coins and Their History — United States Mint
  2. Indian $5 category reference — PCGS CoinFacts