In Coins, What Does Incuse Mean?

For many collectors, particularly newbies or those unfamiliar with certain pre-1933 U.S. gold coins, the term “incuse” might sound quite unfamiliar. In U.S. coinage, the word is most often associated with the Indian Quarter and Half Eagles of 1908 through 1929, but why these coins? They were the only two U.S. coins in which the designs were impressed into the coin’s surface, versus standing proud to the surface as seen on most circulating U.S. coins.

The Indian $2.50 and $5 gold coins were designed by Bela Lyon Pratt and feature virtually identical obverse and reverses, save for the stated denominations on the two different types. While these coins are heralded by collectors today, they weren’t so well received by the public during the influenza pandemic of 1918; fears persisted that the recesses of the incuse designs would harbor bacteria and spread germs. More than a century on, we have yet to verifiably trace even one case of illness or infection back to the spread of filth on these incused coins, but the novelty of these intaglio-style designs persists many years on.

Incuse coins wear quite differently than bas-relief coins, whose designs usually first see wear on the highest points that progress to the most basic elements of the design. While the fields on incuse coins experience the brunt of wear and tear in circulation, the widest and shallowest areas of an incuse design will also see a significant degree of wear. Suffice it to say, determining the grade of incuse coinage requires its own specialized grading skillsets.

Perhaps the public controversy that ensued after the Indian Quarter Eagle and Indian Half Eagle coins were released helped dissuade the powers that be at the United States Mint from pursuing other incuse designs in the years that followed. Yet, this hasn’t stopped other mints around the world from producing their own incuse coinage, including the Royal Canadian Mint as well as the Perth Mint in Australia.