Thoughts on this $2.50 Gold Indian for type set?

P0CKETCHANGE

Considering this example for my type set, but don’t have a ton of experience with this series (or the larger $5). What do folks here think of this example? My budget is $750 or less, if that helps.

pcgscacgold

It depends what you are after. If you want the highest grade for the buck you should look at 25D, 26, 27, 28. The 1908 is going to be more expensive compared to those. That is a nice looking coin.

gumby1234

Beautiful coin. I would want that for a type set

BillJones

The 1908 is the only Indian quarter eagle that is never struck well on the top of the Eagle’s wing, or his shoulder, if that makes it clearer. Otherwise, they can make for a very pretty type coin. I have an MS-64 in my collection that I really like although my top piece for bragging rights is a 1925-D in MS-65.

My grade for the pieces you considering is AU-55.

Downtown1974

The eye appeal is there! I like it.

P0CKETCHANGE

@BillJones said:
The 1908 is the only Indian quarter eagle that is never struck well on the top of the Eagle’s wing, or his shoulder, if that makes it clearer.

Thanks, that’s helpful to have confirmed. I was thinking it was weakly struck in that area, as that much actual wear didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the coin.

Steven59

Well, the TV is pretty darn nice looking........

JonBrand83

Nice coin. No major marks. I like 1908 as a type example of the series. The overall look of them seems distinct to me, and I kind of like the more dull wing. The strike on these is usually really good on the obverse.

pmh1nic

Those that consider toning environmental damage may not like it but I think it's a nice coin.

Mr_Spud

It has good eye appeal 👍🏻

jwitten

I love it. I would not hesitate to add that one at all. It’s not weakly struck... that’s how all 1908s look. They didn’t add the wing/shoulder details until 1909.

P0CKETCHANGE

Thanks all for your thoughts. I read over the blurb for this series in the Red Book and was intrigued to learn that there was a group of folks critical of the coin that considered the incuse design of these coins as a potential harborer of disease/germs. The PCGS website provides a bit more detail:

One of the earliest and most vocal critics of the new coins came from a Philadelphia coin dealer named Samuel Chapman. […] he was worried the incuse design would harbor dirt, germs, and other bacteria. The incuse design would “permit enough germs to accumulate to prove a health hazard,” stated Chapman. He went on to indict the incused Pratt coinage as “a great receptacle for dirt and conveyor of disease, and the coin[s] will be the most unhygienic ever issued.”

This was prior to the Spanish Flu epidemic, but I couldn’t help but find the parallel to current events interesting. When COVID was first spreading in 2020, local stores stopped transacting in cash (violating the law in NJ, where I lived at the time) because it was believed that coins and currency would carry the virus.

Anyway, here are a couple of slab photos of the coin — it has a real “dirty gold” look which I am now appreciating more given this knowledge.

Source website: https://www.pcgs.com/news/filthy-gold-coins-caused-public-panic

Edit: updated photo

P0CKETCHANGE

@jwitten said:
I love it. I would not hesitate to add that one at all. It’s not weakly struck... that’s how all 1908s look. They didn’t add the wing/shoulder details until 1909.

Interesting. So you’re saying that the wing detail was struck as intended, and that the dies were altered after 1908 with additional separation of the feathers? That’s an important distinction. Thank you

jwitten

I believe so. I’ve never seen a 1908 with strong details, so that leads me to believe this is how they were designed.

P0CKETCHANGE

@jwitten said:
I believe so. I’ve never seen a 1908 with strong details, so that leads me to believe this is how they were designed.

The CoinFacts write-up on this year corroborates it. Thanks again