$5 Indian Head Gold Coins

$5 Indian Head (1908-1929)

First struck in 1908, Indian Head $5 gold half-eagles, along with their Indian Head $2.50 gold quarter-eagle brethren, are perhaps the most unique and fascinating coins ever minted in the United States. And at today's prices, they're an absolute bargain!

Teddy's radical new design
Unlike any other modern coins, these Indian Head gold coins feature an incuse design, meaning their images and inscriptions are actually cut into the coin surface. All other U.S. coins, before and since, are struck in bas-relief, meaning their designs are raised slightly above the surface fields.

President Theodore Roosevelt, the driving force behind so many American innovations in the early 1900s, is credited with bringing this radical new Indian Head design into circulation, just as he had inspired the spectacular Saint-Gaudens $20 double-eagle and Indian Head $10 eagle that debuted in 1907.

Amazingly, this unique and beautiful work of art was at first resisted by the general public because of the erroneous belief (in the era before modern medicine) that the so-called "sunken design" would be a breeding ground of disease!

Low price, high demand

Because of their unique design and unusual history, $5 Indian Head gold coins are highly prized by collectors, and remain in constant demand. Today they're a genuine bargain, trading near their lowest prices in 20 years, at a small fraction of their previous highs!