Owner Comments:
Satisfies the Roaring Twenties decade. It is the only 1920s Denver Mint quarter eagle, and by pairing it with its 1914-D half eagle "older brother," both of them follow the same order of appearance "coherence" established at the beginning of the collection by the Classic Heads: for same mint, similar-design type coins, large denomination precedes small denomination.
This coin has seen a lot of attention from me to get it to present itself better. Originally acquired as PCGS MS 65, I sent it off to NGC for crossing-over, and also for upgrading to a Scratch-Resistant Holder. It came back as MS 65+, a "+" higher than PCGS had graded: "icing on the 'cross-over' cake."
It's a very dark coin. It has a lot of toning, especially for a gold Indian, and in-hand it looks sort of dingy, with copper-reddish areas, other gun-metal blueish and greenish areas, and still other shiny gold areas. And all of this on such a small coin, that it is.
Together, these colorings lend to an initial-appearance impression of it almost being "warped" — 3-D-like or an optical illusion — and when coupled with its very small mintmark, collectively these aspects make it extremely interesting. However, when photographed — uncommonly careful lighting — only then does it really come to life, maybe because light intensity can be adjusted upward to boost luster reflectivity.
I love the coin because of this toning, but especially so in my collection because it is preceded and followed, decade-wise, by spectacularly crisp and shiny $5 and $10 Indians, and so it makes up for its size "inadequacy" by standing out as uniquely colorful and unusual. Also, on the obverse side, just in front of the Indian's mouth, is some sort of "dark metaphor" that suggests the smoking of a peace pipe.
Perceiving the inherent, unadulterated "darkness" of the coin, took a chance and submitted it for CAC, … and got lucky. The green CAC "bean" really adds warmth to the coin's appearance… puts it in another league. Not just a coin anymore… "art."
Nice. Choice. Very attractive, now… and the collection's highest graded coin!!