Of the four design types of US gold produced in the 20th century, the Indian Head half eagle is by far the scarcest in high grades. Any Indian Head half eagle is rare in properly graded MS65 and any date in this series is very rare in MS66 and above. The 1909 is the second most available $5 Indian from Philadelphia after the 1908 (and the third most available after the 1909-D) but I see true Gems far less often than I do for the 1908.

This superb example, which is housed in an older pre-barcode PCGS holder, is a solid Gem with great color and very frosty luster. The color is excellent with rich rose and yellow-gold hues seen on both sides. There is not much in the way of rub on the high spots (I have never seen a $5 Indian without some sort of rub on the Indian’s cheekbone) and the fields are clean.

Values for this type have dropped in recent years despite the difficulty in locating CAC-quality MS65′s. This makes the Indian Head half eagle one of the better buys in the market right now and if you are looking for a true Gem for your type set, you can’t go wrong with this amazing 1909.

CAC has approved nine in this grade with just one finer.