1913-S Indian Eagle. MS-62 (NGC).

1913-S Indian Eagle. MS-62 (NGC).，A handsome and fully original example of this undisputed key date issue in the challenging Indian eagle series of 1907 to 1933. Both sides exhibit dominant honey-gold patina, a few swirls of russet generally out of the way at or near the obverse border. Boldly to sharply struck throughout with a suitably lustrous, softly frosted texture in a BU example of this issue. With a paltry mintage of 66,000 pieces, the 1913-S eagle has long been recognized as one of the key issues of its type. As with many of the higher denomination gold issues from the early 20th century, most ended up in government melting pots during the late 1930s. Until population figures became more established, the 1913-S was regarded as the undisputed condition rarity in the Indian eagle series at and above the MS-65 grade level. It has been dethroned by the 1911-D, however, but it remains rarer than that Denver Mint issue in terms of total number of Mint State coins extant. While available to some degree in circulated grades, the 1913-S is elusive at even the lowest Mint State levels. As Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth have noted in the 2008 edition of their <em>Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933</em>, "Any Indian Head eagle collection would be truly defined by the presence of both a 1913-S and a 1911-D issue." The present offering represents a fleeting opportunity for the advanced 20th century gold collector to obtain a fully Uncirculated example of this highly regarded issue.，From the Woodward Collection.，