Posted 13 years ago
ttomtucker
(313 items)
My grandfather had two of these gold coins in a safe deposit box until 1968 when he gave one to me and my sister. He said he got them when he was in the Army at Camp Handcock, GA during ww1. We had a hard time making out the mint mark if it was a "O" or "D" . Ok A.C. Dwyer what is the word on this coin?
Clearly the hope would be that the coin is an O (New Orleans) mint mark as it is one of the rarest Indian Head half eagles with a small mintage. Plus it would command a premium just for being from New Orleans and a single year coin as it is the only year New Orleans minted them (the New Orleans mint shutdown in 1909).
Although it looks like enough of the mint mark is showing that we could figure out which one it is, it's not clear enough in the picture. From the picture, I couldn't rule out a S mint mark (San Francisco) as well.
It looks like your picture is from a scanner. You might want to try taking a picture with a digital camera. Put it on "macro" mode so that you can take closeups. Then get as close as you can and are still able to focus. Use the highest resolution and it should capture enough detail to know which mint mark it is. If you take a high resolution picture, you can use the computer to zoom in on the mint mark area. Also post the picture so we can take a look.
If your coin is an O mint mark and not too damaged by the necklace holder, it could be worth a few thousand dollars. If it's a D mint mark then we're talking low hundreds. That's assuming it can be removed from the holder and there's no real damage from it.
But with your grandfather's story, the necklace makes a great family heirloom. Very cool.
AC Dwyer, I have removed the gold coin from the necklace. I have super macro mode on my camera that I will use. The mint mark is not real clear even with a jewelers loop. I lean towards a D mint mark? will post later.
I HAVE ONE $5.00 PIECE AND 2 -$2.50 PIECES WITH THE INDIAN CHIEF HEAD ON THEM ,BUT SOMEONE MADE THEM IN TO BUTTON COVERS ,HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THAT?
I have one of the Indian head coins 1909 with the o mint mark . Should I get it appraised ? it was picked up in usa in 1910 and placed in a box . I dont think it was circulated . came right from the bank .