During the previous years before the Americans got independence they had a mode of exchange which was coins. The coins had different styles and designs depending on the years. When in the month of June 1795, Sir Henry DeSaussure replaced David Rittenhouse as the Mint Director. His aim as a mint was to begin striking gold coins and improve the current coin designs. In this era the Mint frequently used all dies until they were no longer serviceable. Frontage and reverse dies were used randomly and in different combinations, this is what accounted for many unusual and out of sequence die-pairings often seen on the early coins.This was until in the year 1908 when there was the release of the $1 and the $2.5 Indian Head gold coins that became the famous and official legal tender gold coins in the united states of America.

Features of the coin

The weight of the $ 1 gold coin was 4.359 grams, and it was made of 90% gold and 10% copper as the material. The diameter of the coin was 21.6mm. The head gold coins were full of various designs, this was designed by famous- sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt, This was to make history in the U.S. The designs on this coin and the writings were sunken (incuse) into the gold surface of the coin.

On the top part of the coin there is a design of the Native American (red Indians) warriors face, with his full war attire on the head, he adorns a headdress made of feather and puts on a ring on the ear. The coin too has thirteen in scripted stars in total, with six stars on the left hand side and seven stars on the right side. The top part of the coin has also the words liberty written in capital letters at the far top of the coin and the year 1908 to 1929 minted on the coin depending on the year of manufacture written at the bottom part of the coin. The reverse side of the coin was in scripted with a feathered eagle. These features made the coin distinguishable from other form of medieval currency, it’s gold worth made it a good medium of exchange, the introduction of the Indian gold coin an almost accurate measure of goods worth as compared to batter trade, where individuals could exchange goods for other goods.

The designs

One would wonder why the unique designs on the coin; the major reason of having the designs and the inscriptions on the coin was to aid in the durability of the coin. The incused designs on the coin reduced the wear and tear of the coin, and also aided in avoiding regular replacement of the coin by the government. And since history only the two coins are the only ones that have been incused and are unique. And to date most of them collected by the coins collectors still look new due to the durability nature.

The advantages

The gold coin apart from its uniqueness came with its advantages; it was a unique kind of coin and therefore could not be forged by any individual thus maintaining its worth. With its introduction, the precious metal led to the rise of the price of gold and made it profitable when they were melted to form the coins making gold to sell at high prices also made gold mining a common form of trade. The value of the coin also went up at that time due to its fascinating nature and uniqueness.

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