{"id":38032,"date":"2025-12-20T00:52:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T00:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/the-mystery-of-the-blob-mintmark-on-the-1913-s-indian-head-half-eagle\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T00:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T00:52:21","slug":"the-mystery-of-the-blob-mintmark-on-the-1913-s-indian-head-half-eagle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/the-mystery-of-the-blob-mintmark-on-the-1913-s-indian-head-half-eagle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mystery of the \u201cBlob\u201d Mintmark on the 1913-S Indian Head Half Eagle"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roger W. Burdette<\/strong> for<\/em> CoinWeek<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Collectors of Indian Head half eagles cherish a quintet of San Francisco Mint coins for their overall rarity. These issues include the 1909-S, 1910-S, 1911-S, 1912-S, and 1913-S.<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Mint struck all five dates in limited quantities and promptly issued them to California and other West Coast states.<\/p>\n

A Rare San Francisco Quintet<\/h3>\n

Within this group, the 1913-S half eagle stands out as unusually rare in Mint State 63, and collectors consider it almost unobtainable in MS 65 or MS 66.<\/p>\n

1913-S Indian Head Half Eagle with \"Blob\" Mintmark
1913-S Indian Head Half Eagle with \u201cBlob\u201d Mintmark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 1913-S Half Eagle in High Grades<\/h3>\n

In 1988, David Akers<\/strong> commented on the peculiar quality of this issue:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strike is typically only average to good and the mintmark is usually very weak, and little more than a shapeless \u2018blob.\u2019 Problems near the border indicate die deterioration\u2026and the luster is nearly always sub-par.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, most observers have shared this assessment. For example, top-tier auction descriptions frequently address the mintmark directly, as illustrated by this Heritage Auctions description:<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the mintmark is a trifle weak on this specimen, it is still completely visible and actually looks like an S, rather than the usual blob of metal seen on most specimens. The strike is substantially sharper than usual for the issue.\u201d<\/span><\/em>[1]<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Origin of the \u201cBlob\u201d Description<\/h3>\n

Accordingly, Akers, the Heritage cataloger, and many others have used the \u201cblob\u201d epithet to describe the mintmark on many 1913-S half eagles. The reason for this characterization appears clearly in the illustrations below, which show a sharply defined mintmark, two examples of a blob, and a more extreme \u201cshapeless blob.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"1913-S
1913-S Indian Head Half Eagle Mintmark Details<\/strong> [left to right]- Two examples of a \u201cblob\u201d, a more extreme \u201cshapeless blob\u201d , then a sharply defined mintmark.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Die Deterioration Theory\u2014and Its Limits<\/h3>\n

Based on Akers\u2019 comment that \u201cproblems near the border indicate die deterioration,\u201d<\/em><\/span> collectors initially accepted this explanation as reasonable.<\/p>\n

However, closer examination of production details raises questions.<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Mint produced half eagles only in January and February of 1913. During that period, the mint delivered a total of 408,000 pieces on the following dates:[2]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Date and Value<\/h4>\n