1869 $2.50, CAM PR(PCGS#87895)

Spring 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

경매인

Stack's Bowers

로트 번호

3118

등급

PR64CAM

가격

26,400

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Our first offering for this issue in more than a decade, and not surprising given the awesome rarity of the Proof 1869 Liberty Head quarter eagle. A beautiful specimen, both sides are dressed in warm orange-gold color that appears to "go black" in the fields as the surfaces turn away from direct lighting. The fields contrast with frosty and fully struck devices in a manner that leaves no doubt about the validity of the Cameo designation from NGC. A few faint hairlines from ancient numismatic handling require persistence to discern; while these features account for the Choice Proof grade, they do not inhibit the strong eye appeal of this lovely coin.<p>Government records provide a mintage figure of 25 coins for the Proof 1869 quarter eagle, all of which were delivered on February 19 and intended for distribution as part of the year's Proof sets. Writing in the 2018 volume of his reference <em>United States Proof Coins</em>, however, John W. Dannreuther reports two die rotations among the survivors, suggesting a second, unrecorded striking period. As the author explains:<p><em>The 25 coins struck in Proof for this year may have been augmented by a few more examples, as was usual during the 1858 to 1885 era. There are differences in the rotation of the NNC and other examples examined. The rarity of this date in Proof indicates that it would have been only a few coins produced with only 12 to 14 survivors. Since there are obviously two different rotations, a second group must have been struck to sate the demand.</em><p>On the present example, the reverse is rotated a few degrees clockwise from normal coin alignment. Multiple striking periods or not, the mintage for this issue could not have been much higher than 25 coins, as Dannreuther indicates, and all were produced from a single pair of dies. The date is closer to the denticles than to the truncation of the bust, and on the reverse there are tiny die lumps within the denticles outside the letters D in UNITED and first S in STATES. The rarity of the circulation strike 1869 Philadelphia Mint quarter eagle - mintage: just 4,320 pieces - further enhances the desirability of the even rarer Proofs. With an impressive numismatic provenance, that offered here will have no difficulty finding its way into another advanced collection.