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Quarter Eagles

Common, scarce and rare U.S. Quarter Eagles ($2.50 gold pieces; Capped Bust [1796-1808]; Capped Head [1821-34]; Classic Head [1834-39]; Liberty Head [1840-1907]; CAL. gold [1848-1907]; and Indian Head [1908-29]) at Mintmark.com; also links to other issues of Eagles and U.S. gold bullion coins (American Eagle [1986 to date]; American Buffalo [2006 to date]; First Spouse [2007 to date]).

1914 Indian Head Quarter Eagle
4.18 grams; .900 gold; 18 mm

"Authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, quarter eagles weighed 67.5 grains, .9167 [gold] fineness until the weight was changed to 64.5 grains, .8992 fineness, by the Act of June 28, 1834. The Act of January 18, 1837, established fineness at .900. Most dates before 1834 are rare. The first issue was struck in 1796; most of these had no stars on the obverse. Proofs of some dates prior to 1855 are known to exist, and all are rare . . . [also see, Gold Eagles] . . ." —
A Guide Book of United States Coins

". . . The first book devoted exclusively to American gold issues made its appearance in 1909. Edgar H. Adams, a prolific scholar with interests in many numismatic specialities, was the author of the Official Premium List of United States, Private and Territorial Gold Coins. The volume was a compilation of prices realized at recent public auctions . . . In his study of quarter eagles published in the 1960s, Walter Breen noted that 1841 $2.50 pieces were unknown to numismatists until Adams published his book in 1909. The latter stated in his discussion of 1841 quarter eagles that only two of these coins are known to be in existence. However, neither Adams nor Breen were aware that the 1841 quarter eagle was not only known to numismatists years earlier, but actually was illustrated on a plate in the pioneering book published in America for coin collectors in 1842 by Eckfeldt and DuBois, A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, Struck Within the Past Century. Further, James Ross Snowden's A Description of Ancient and Modern Coins in the Cabinet Collection of the Mint of the United States, published in 1860, shows that 1841 quarter eagles were manufactured as patterns, probably a reference to Snowden's knowledge that pieces may have produced only as Proofs and that none were made for regular circulation. Moreover, studies of nineteenth century auction catalogues and other publications by Dr. Richard A. Bagg, research associate for the present volume, unearthed several listings of 1841 quarter eagles without mintmarks. The situation regarding the 1841 quarter eagles was compounded by errors in at least two nineteenth century guides for visitors to the Philadelphia Mint. Specific mention is made of the rarity of the 1842 quarter eagle, actually a common date. Presumably, the 1841 quarter eagle was to have been highlighted, but a typographical error was printed, and this error was repeated by the second publication . . ." — United States Gold Coins: An Illustrated History, by Q. David Bowers

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