1825 $2.50 MS(PCGS#7664)

Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2206

Grade

AU58

Price

29,280

Lot Description

BD Die State a/a. This is an endearing example of one of the rarest types among classic U.S. Mint gold coinage. Lustrous with crisply denticulated borders, the eye appeal is uncommonly strong for the assigned grade. A semi-prooflike finish in the fields contrasts nicely with a softly frosted texture to the devices, the entire package dressed in bright golden-olive color. Faint hairlines and a touch of glossiness to the texture point to long-ago numismatic mishandling, but otherwise this is an essentially Mint State coin.<p>The Philadelphia Mint struck a mere 4,434 quarter eagles in 1825 during an era in which the half eagle was the most popular denomination among gold bullion depositors. Many of these coins were melted after passage of the Act of June 28, 1834 reduced the weight of the quarter eagle from 4.37 grams to 4.18 grams, creating a scarce issue with an extant population of no more than 150 coins. Of the three known die marriages of the 1825 quarter eagle the BD-2, offered here, accounts for most examples in numismatic hands. On the obverse the digit 5 in the date is thick with repunching at the tip of the flag, although this feature fades in later die states. The reverse die, a holdover from the 1821- and 1824-dated deliveries, has the fraction 1/2 in the denomination nearly centered under the junction of the lowermost arrow feather and olive branch. This piece is among the finer certified survivors from the issue, and it will surely catch the eye of astute gold collectors.