Indian Head $2-1/2 Gold, Proof (1908-1915)

Short and sweet and rare and neat! Okay, that's not exactly worthy of Robert Frost, but this set can make you wax poetic with its historic coins, innovative design, unusual surfaces and great scarcity. These coins are called "Matte Proofs," but the 1909 and 1910 coins are Roman Finish, a glowing gold color that is about as "matte" as sunshine on a clear day. Are these coins truly rare? At the present time only one set can be put together in PR65 or better, and the highest mintage of any coin in the set is 682 pieces, of which 400 are believed to have been melted the following year.