1862 $2.50, DCAM PR(PCGS#97888)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3118

Grade

PR65DCAM

Price

96,000

Lot Description

Fantastic Gem Deep Cameo Proof quality for a highly significant rarity in the Proof Liberty Head quarter eagle series. The devices are fully struck, as befits the method of manufacture, with razor sharp detail to even the most intricate design elements. They are also possessed of a softly frosted texture that contrasts markedly with deeply mirrored reflectivity in the fields. Carefully and originally preserved, the smooth-looking surfaces are drenched in richly original deep orange-gold color. A gorgeous coin in all regards, the legendary rarity of this issue is sure to result in strong competition for this offering among advanced gold enthusiasts.<p>By the end of 1861 it was obvious to most Americans both North and South that the outcome of the Civil War was not going to be decided quickly. In the North, banks suspended gold specie payments in December of that year, which resulted in the disappearance of such coins from commercial channels in the East and Midwest. Production at the Philadelphia Mint fell off accordingly, the facility striking just 98,508 quarter eagles for circulation in 1862 as opposed to 1,283,788 coins in 1861. (The 1861 mintage is particularly generous for the era and was achieved to help the North fund the war effort.) Yearly circulation strike mintages at the Philadelphia Mint continued to fall off markedly, and they remained limited until the late 1870s. In 1863, in fact, the Philadelphia Mint did not produce a single circulation strike quarter eagle. Proof production continued apace, however, with (very) limited totals achieved for all years during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.<p>The mintage of the Proof 1862 quarter eagle is recorded as 35 pieces. This is slightly more than that of the 1863, with 30 Proofs struck. As a Proof-only issue the 1863 garners most of the attention that numismatists focus on Proof quarter eagles produced during the Civil War. This is unfortunate since the Proof 1862 is actually the rarer of the two issues. In his 2018 reference <em>United States Proof Coins</em> John W. Dannreuther accounts for only 14 to 16 coins extant for the Proof 1862, as opposed to 18 to 22 survivors for the Proof 1863. Other estimates from recognized numismatic sources are similar, such as those of 12 to 15 (Proof 1862) vs. 18 to 22 (Proof 1863) published by <em>PCGS CoinFacts</em>. And Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth (<em>Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933</em>, 2008) take a similar stance with 15 to 20 coins known for the Proof 1863, but "probably fewer than 15 coins of the [1862] in Proof." Both the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution and the ANS Collection contain Proof 1862 quarter eagles, the former from the original U.S. Mint cabinet and the other a gift from J.P. Morgan to the Museum of Natural History, New York City in 1902. That leaves only a dozen or so examples in private hands, most of which spend years off the market in tightly held collections. Auction appearances of high quality survivors are understandably few and far between, and we suspect that the significance of the present offering will not be lost on astute collectors.