United States 1909 2-1/2 dollars
This specimen was lot 2192 in Jean Elsen sale 160 (Brussels, November 2024), where it sold for €340 (about US$431 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ETATS-UNIS, AV 2 1/2 dollars, 1909. Très Beau. (United States, gold 2½ dollars of 1909, very fine.)"
This type was issued from Philadelphia, Denver and New Orleans 1908-15 and 1925-29. Its depiction of an Indian chief, along with the matching five dollars, has long made it popular with collectors. There is, however, little evidence that it circulated much at the time, currency already being preferred. The United States exited the gold standard in 1933, the last major nation to do so, and the coin has not circulated since. This date is slightly scarce.
Specification: 4.18 g, 0.900 fine gold, 18 mm diameter, designed by Bela Lyon Pratt.
Recorded mintage: 441,760, a slightly scarce date.
Catalog reference: Fr-120, KM 128.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 160, Collection de deniers liegeois et Collection de monnaies d'or francaises, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
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