1915-S Panama-Pacific $2.50. PCGS graded MS-66 PQ. CAC Approved. A nice frosty gem. The centers are lustrous bright reddish-gold oscillating with deeper frosted luster near the peripheries. Far from the normal example of this issue is the respectable amount of detail throughout with no signs of weakness to the clothing that Columbia wears, nor on the scales of the seahorse. Small "S" mintmark to right of the date.
The 1915-S Panama-Pacific Exposition was held at a time in our history when the art world was casting aside the constraints of its previous Victorian ways. Many new devices were being tested on America's coinage: matte proofing, rims without denticles, artistic lettering, textured fields, and the like. As can be seen, the coins struck for this expo, such as this handsome Quarter Eagle, incorporate some of these changes. Instead of a more traditional design, the artist proposed an unusual motif of Columbia seated on a mythological hippocampus, half-horse, half-sea serpent. The eagle, too, was rendered in a new way not seen before on an American production coin. It was modeled upon a similar eagle seen on one of the rare Pattern issues.
Pop 427; 48 finer, 15 in 66+, 33 in 67 (PCGS # 7450) .
Estimated Value $6,500 - 7,000.
Commemorative Gold Coins
