$2.5 Indian Quarter Eagles overview
The $2.50 Indian Head Quarter Eagle is a pre-1933 United States gold coin struck by the U.S. Mint from 1908 through 1929. Each coin contains .12094 troy oz of pure gold at a fineness of .900, struck on a diameter of 18 mm.
Updated June 2026
$2.5 Indian Quarter Eagles
The $2.50 Indian Head Quarter Eagle is a pre-1933 United States gold coin struck by the U.S. Mint from 1908 through 1929. Each coin contains .12094 troy oz of pure gold at a fineness of .900, struck on a diameter of 18 mm. The series belongs to the broader Indian Head coinage era and shares its distinctive design language with the $5 Indian Head Half Eagle issued concurrently. The obverse features a Native American chief in a war bonnet — an unconventional portrait for U.S. coinage of its time — while the reverse depicts a perched eagle. What sets this series apart structurally is its incuse (recessed) relief design, conceived by sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt and based on models by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Rather than raised devices, the design elements are sunken into the coin's field, producing a flat-rimmed appearance unlike any other U.S. gold series. Philadelphia and New Orleans branch mintages vary considerably across the run, making certain date-and-mint combinations noticeably scarcer than others in circulated and uncirculated grades alike. On CoinDuffle, buyers will find $2.50 Indian Quarter Eagles spanning the full 1908–1929 date range, offered across a spectrum of grades from circulated Very Fine examples to mint-state Uncirculated and PCGS/NGC-certified MS pieces. Listings come from multiple vetted dealers, providing access to raw coins, slabbed examples, and date sets. This page sits within the broader Pre-1933 US Gold Coins category, where related series such as the $2.50 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle and $5 Indian Head Half Eagle are also available.
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About $2.5 Indian Quarter Eagles
The $2.50 Indian Head Quarter Eagle is a pre-1933 United States gold coin struck by the U.S. Mint from 1908 through 1929. Each coin contains .12094 troy oz of pure gold at a fineness of .900, struck on a diameter of 18 mm. The series belongs to the broader Indian Head coinage era and shares its distinctive design language with the $5 Indian Head Half Eagle issued concurrently.
The obverse features a Native American chief in a war bonnet — an unconventional portrait for U.S. coinage of its time — while the reverse depicts a perched eagle. What sets this series apart structurally is its incuse (recessed) relief design, conceived by sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt and based on models by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Rather than raised devices, the design elements are sunken into the coin's field, producing a flat-rimmed appearance unlike any other U.S. gold series. Philadelphia and New Orleans branch mintages vary considerably across the run, making certain date-and-mint combinations noticeably scarcer than others in circulated and uncirculated grades alike.
On CoinDuffle, buyers will find $2.50 Indian Quarter Eagles spanning the full 1908–1929 date range, offered across a spectrum of grades from circulated Very Fine examples to mint-state Uncirculated and PCGS/NGC-certified MS pieces. Listings come from multiple vetted dealers, providing access to raw coins, slabbed examples, and date sets. This page sits within the broader Pre-1933 US Gold Coins category, where related series such as the $2.50 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle and $5 Indian Head Half Eagle are also available.
Frequently asked questions
The $2.50 Indian Quarter Eagle is a U.S. gold coin issued from 1908 to 1929, containing .12094 troy oz of gold at .900 fineness. It is distinguished by its incuse (recessed) relief design by sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt, which sets it apart from all other U.S. quarter eagle series. The denomination — one-quarter of an Eagle, or $2.50 — places it among the smaller-denomination pre-1933 U.S. gold coins.
The series ran from 1908 through 1929 with gaps in several years. Coins were struck primarily at the Philadelphia Mint (no mint mark) and the New Orleans Mint (O mint mark) in the early years. Not every year in the range saw production, and annual mintages varied significantly, which directly influences the relative availability of individual dates in today's market.
Incuse refers to a design where the devices — portraits, lettering, and motifs — are recessed into the coin's surface rather than raised above the field. Bela Lyon Pratt's incuse treatment on the Indian Quarter Eagle is unique among circulating U.S. gold coinage. Collectors prize the design for its historical significance and its visual distinctiveness, though the recessed fields can make grading nuances more pronounced across the series.
Examples appear across a wide grade range. Circulated coins are commonly found in grades from VF-20 through AU-58, while uncirculated specimens are graded MS-60 and above by PCGS and NGC. Fully struck, high-luster MS-63 and MS-64 examples exist but become progressively scarcer. Proof strikings were produced in small quantities for select years and represent a distinct collectible subset of the series.
The two series share the same denomination and gold content but differ in design era, style, and production period. The Liberty Head Quarter Eagle, featuring a coronet portrait of Liberty, was struck from 1840 through 1907. The Indian Head series replaced it in 1908 with Pratt's incuse design. The Liberty series spans a longer date range and includes branch-mint issues from Charlotte, Dahlonega, New Orleans, and San Francisco, offering a broader set of collecting variables.