Bela Lyon Pratt's unique incuse Indian Head design made its debut on the quarter eagle and half eagle in 1908. Pratt's attractive design was part of the era that noted numismatic researcher Roger Burdette has termed the "Renaissance of American Coinage." The dawn of this era is closely associated with President Theodore Roosevelt, one of whose many causes was the improvement of the nation's coinage designs. Indeed, Pratt had come to the attention of the president through a mutual friend, Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow, a physician who was also a passionate collector of Japanese art. The introduction of Pratt's new design coincided with the Mint's use of a radically new finish in its production of Proof gold coinage. Whereas Proofs of the preceding Liberty head design had been produced using either a cameo or all-brilliant finish, the Proof 1908 Indian quarter eagle was prepared using the technique of sand blasting the surfaces after striking to provide a heavy, coarse-grain texture to the finish. In anticipation of strong sales linked to the debut of the new design type, the Philadelphia Mint struck a generous number (236 pieces) of Proof 1908 quarter eagles. While enough specimens were indeed ordered and preserved by the contemporary public to make the 1908 the most plentiful Proof Indian two-and-a-half in today's market, the sand blast finish came as a shock to many and overall sales were disappointing. Probably at least one third of the original mintage was eventually melted as unsold.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the November 2011 Baltimore Auction, where it sold for $31,625.