1908-D $5 Indian Head Half Eagle, PCGS MS63, Ex. Rive d'Or Collection

This piece was counted among the Rive d'Or Collection. Gold specialist David Akers tells us, "Color is generally quite good, however, with many, if not most, Mint State specimens having a rather appealing orange and greenish gold color. Like all the Denver Mint issues of this type, the 1908-D is invariably well struck with a clearly defined, if not particularly bold, mintmark." This would be a Great Type Coin for a numismatist who wants an affordable example of this simply stunning design.

The mint director at the time of the concept and creation of this beautiful coin was Frank Leach, who wrote in his memoir:

Originally it was the intention to give the $5 and $2.50 pieces the same design as that used on the double eagle or $20 piece, but before final action to that end was taken President Roosevelt invited me to lunch with him at the White House. His purpose was to have me meet Doctor William Sturgis Bigelow of Boston, a lover of art and friend of the President, who was showing great interest in the undertaking for improving the appearance of American coins, and who had a new design for the smaller gold coins. It was his idea that the commercial needs of the country required coins that would "stack" evenly, and that the preservation of as much as possible of the flat plane of the piece was desirable. A coin, therefore, with the lines of the design, figures, and letters depressed or incused, instead of being raised or in relief, would meet the wishes of the bankers and business men, and at the same time introduce a novelty in coinage that was artistic as well as adaptable to the needs of business.