1911-S $5 Indian Head Half Eagle PCGS AU58

Here’s an attractive piece to add to your collection, one that won’t break the bank. PCGS has graded 1,070 as AU58 with 1,507 finer. Collector’s Universe prices this issue at $1,100.00 in AU58.

Bela Lyon Pratt’s plaster models for the half eagle. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

Bela Lyon Pratt (1867-1916) was a little boy.  Just barely 5 years old. But he was a talented artist even at that young age. It was around that time that the family doctor was at the Pratt house. During his visit, small items on a stand caught his eye. He took a close look at them.

They were tiny models of a dog, cat, horse, deer and other creatures. He reached out and picked up one of them, inspecting it carefully. Excitedly, he exclaimed, "Who made these?" Bela's mother said, "Bela pinches them out of beeswax. I can't keep a bit of wax in my work basket. He always plays with it."

“Why, don’t you realize that child is a genius? He is a born sculptor!” declared the doctor to Pratt’s astonished mother. It was a few decades later, in 1907-1908, that he designed one of our most beautiful coin designs.