1834 25C B-5 MS(PCGS#38996)

1834 25C B-5 MS (PCGS#38996)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Lot Description: Tompkins Die Stage 1/1, Rea et al. Die State P. Attractive golden-apricot iridescence blankets both sides, with glints of intermingled powder blue evident as the surfaces rotate under a light. This is a sharply struck and frosty Choice AU example with little to report in the way of actual wear. Several obverse marks are noted, but they are largely concealed by the toning during in-hand viewing.<p>The rarest die marriage of the 1834-dated quarter issue, the Browning-5 is scarce in lower grades and very challenging to acquire above EF. The present example is included in both the 2008 Tompkins and 2010 Rea et al. census listings, in which it is tied for CC#4. Both sources confirm only three Mint State survivors from these dies. The obverse of the 1834 B-4 also appears in the 1834 B-3 and B-4 pairings, while the reverse is shared with the 1834 B-2 and 1835 B-2 varieties. Writing in 2008, our consignor opines that the 1834 B-4 may have been struck during calendar year 1835.<p><strong>Steve M. Tompkins Commentary:</strong> A spectacular and rare coin from the Charlton Meyer collection, it has been off the market for 35 years and is virtually unimprovable in a circulated example of this die pairing. The fields are mirror like and reminiscent of a Proof. A nicer 1834 B-5 may not be available any time in the near future.