1909-D Half Eagle - 1909-D $5 Indian NGC AU58. This near-Uncirculated 1909-D half eagle has bright mint luster and a strong strike. Full details are found on the high parts of the Indians bonnet, the feather details in the headdress, and the eagles feathers on the highest area of the wing. The surfaces are original and have minor abrasion marks in keeping with the grade. Just a touch of wear on the highest points keeps this piece from a Mint State grade.

In 1908 the new Indian Head half eagle was produced. Designed by Bela Lyon Pratt, the new coin had two very different innovations related to its design. One was the realism used in the portrait of the Indian brave on the obverse, and the other was the use of incuse design details. President Theodore Roosevelt, influenced by his friend, Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow, wanted the coinage of the country redesigned. His pet crime was to bypass the mediocre Charles Barber, the Mint Engraver. Roosevelt, who was now in his second term of office, wanted to reform the coinage of the United States, which he felt was atrociously hideous. He wanted the half eagle to use an American Indian as an emblem of liberty and to use the incuse design of the ancients.

The obverse shows a profile view of an authentic looking brave facing left. He is wearing a full headdress. Above him is LIBERTY and below is the date. Six five-pointed stars are on the left and seven are on the right. The reverse shows a standing eagle, reminiscent of the reverse of Saint-Gaudens eagle coin. Pratt fit the four inscriptions on the reverse without it seeming overcrowded. E PLURIBUS UNUM is in the left field, and IN GOD WE TRUST is in the right. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, the words separated by dots is above, and FIVE DOLLARS is below. The eagle stands on a bundle of arrows that resembles the Roman fasces, symbol of the power to kill, and holds an olive branch, symbol of peace.