1919 Indian Head Half Eagle

Numismatists seeking to build a collection of Indian Head half eagles (gold $5) should start by weighing the costs for the last coin in the series: the 1929. Despite a relatively high mintage, many of these coins were melted, and examples in About Uncirculated sell for five figures today.  

However, even in low Mint State, most of the 24 date-and-mintmark combinations in this series carry only a modest premium. And although the series is categorized as covering 1908 to 1929, coins were struck with only 10 dates due to a 12-year hiatus in production before the swan song issue
of 1929.

Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) recently received a submission of a half eagle with a purported date of 1919. A close examination of the date quickly dispels any mystery about this coin: Someone altered the last digit in the date, which was originally a 3.

Note the stroke at the bottom left of the final 9 has a slight upward curl, similar to the 3 on a genuine 1913. The 9 in the second digit of the date does not terminate in an upward curl at the bottom left. In addition, on the suspicious piece, note how wide the stroke of the final 9 becomes halfway up, opening into a yawning gap that is much different than the elegance seen in the genuine 9.

It is unclear whether the person who altered this coin was trying to pass it off as genuine or was merely practicing their skill on a coin with little numismatic value. Nevertheless, the Indian Head half eagle’s unusual incuse design helped them. Because the date is sunken into the field (instead of rising above it), changing a 3 to look like a 9 requires simply gouging out a small amount of metal, rather than adding some. (The corresponding alteration to a coin where the date rises above the field is to remove part of a digit; a 4 can be made to look like a 1, for example.)

NGC is proud to have been part of some great numismatic discoveries over the years, but this isn’t one of them. Remember, NGC backs its determinations of authenticity and grade with the NGC Guarantee.

A version of this article appears in the June 2026 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).