1929 Indian Half Eagle. MS-64 (PCGS).Here is an outstanding Choice Mint State quality example of this legendary key date circulation strike Indian half eagle. Both sides are lustrous and display lovely warm pinkish-gold patina. The strike is sharp, the surfaces smooth, and the eye appeal is strong. This lovely coin will be just right for an advanced collection of 20th century U.S. Mint gold.<p>This final year Indian half eagle issue is an excellent case study in how using mintage figures of gold coins from the 1920s and 1930s as a predictor of rarity is fraught with great difficulties. In 1916, production of the half eagle was suspended after only 240,000 coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint. It would not be until 1929 that coinage of this denomination resumed, this time only at the Mint in Philadelphia. While 662,000 half eagles were struck in 1929, the nation was in the midst of the economic turmoil that would soon explode into the Great Depression. With gold not needed in circulation under such circumstances, very few 1929 half eagles were distributed into commercial channels. Virtually the entire mintage languished in Treasury Department coffers until the great coinage melts of 1937, when they went straight into the Mints crucibles to become ingots. These melts also destroyed many of the examples that had been released into circulation, as most had been returned to the Treasury after the implementation of the Gold Surrender Order in 1933. With so few examples used in everyday commerce, it is little wonder that circulated examples are significantly rarer than their elusive Mint State counterparts. Whats more, most Uncirculated coins are confined to the lower end of the grading scale due to bagmarks acquired while being jostled about in heavy bags.<p>The 1929 half eagle has long been recognized as the prime rarity in the circulation strike Indian half eagle series. David W. Akers noted nearly 40 years ago that, "If anything exists that is better than MS-65 I have not seen or heard of it." Today, this remains true; not a single specimen has since surpassed the Gem Mint State level. The present example is superior to most and, with abundant eye appeal, it is sure to please even the most discerning numismatist.PCGS# 8533. NGC ID: 28E2.
