By CoinWeek ….
Bidding ends Sunday, October 20, for this Gem “Strong D” 1911-D Indian Head Quarter Eagle gold coin, a key date in the Indian Head Quarter Eagle series. The 1911-D quarter eagle offered by GreatCollections is graded MS65 by PCGS and approved by CAC as strong for the grade.
The 1911-D quarter eagle features the lowest mintage of the series, at only 55,680. To put the coin’s scarcity in perspective, the 1914 Philadelphia issue has the next-lowest mintage with almost four times as many pieces struck. Additionally, many collectors impugned the coin’s incuse design when the type debuted in 1908, so fewer examples were saved than one might assume. This means that Indian Head Quarter Eagles are rarer than their mintages imply, and this is certainly true of the 1911-D.
High-grade specimens are even harder to find. While almost all Indian Head Quarter Eagles are relatively well struck and have a wire rim on the obverse, 1911-D quarter eagles are much less common in high Mint State. Because of this, the 1911-D is a favorite target of counterfeiters who often alter the mintmark by adding a “D” onto regular 1911 Philadelphia issues. Collectors are highly cautioned to purchase only certified examples of the Denver strike and avoid raw specimens online.
Interestingly, the Denver mintmark often comes weakly struck, earning such examples the designation “Weak D” from NGC. PCGS instead focuses on the smaller number of well-struck mintmarks and designates such pieces “Strong D”. PCGS reports 30 grading events at MS65, with only six certified higher.
Recent prices for PCGS MS65 Strong D 1911-D quarter eagles range from $55,000 to an $84,000 auction result in January 2023, though that price is something of an outlier. At the time of writing, the highest of 27 bids for this Gem key date 1911-D Indian Head Quarter Eagle at GreatCollections is $41,000.
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To search through GreatCollection’s archive of over 600,000 certified coins and notes the company has sold, please visit the GreatCollections Auction Archives.
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