When you talk about a coin having few examples known, you are talking about a rarity in most cases. This is no exception with the story behind our next entry in the 100 Greatest United States Coin blog series that follows along with Whitman Publishing’s fourth edition. Author Jeff Garrett along with Ron Guth will help lead us along, exploring a Proof Gold example that is perhaps the rarest of its kind.
#99 - 1863 Proof Liberty Head Quarter Eagle
In 1863, quarter eagles were only struck with a Proof finish and there are not any circulation strikes with the date known. With this knowledge, it is said that no more than 20 of the 30 Proof examples left the United States Mint. With the demand for Proof gold at the time basically nonexistent, the Mint decided that they would melt Proof examples year after year. This included the 1863 Proof Quarter Eagles.
More specimens of the 1863-dated coin would surface after 1883, but it still rang true that it was one of the rarest of the series. There are between 15 and 20 coins known to exist in all grades. Author Jeff Garrett sold an example of the coin himself in a public auction in 2007 for $149,500. The coin was certified by NGC in a PF66 Ultra Cameo condition. The Smithsonian’s National Numismatic Collection houses two of the examples.
Coins of this magnitude are also bound to have exaggerated certified numbers as many United States gold coins have combined population numbers that exceed the original mintage. This happens when coins are resubmitted with the tags either withheld or lost. While population numbers are great, they are often taken with a grain of salt.
In 1960, the 1863 Proof Liberty Head Quarter Eagle had a value of $1,500 in a Choice Proof condition. By this fourth edition, the value increased to $100,000.
