1861-S Quarter Eagle - As many other issues struck during the Civil War, the 1861-S quarter eagle is very scarce in all grades. A mere 24,000 pieces were struck for circulation, where many remained for a longer period of time. Unlike the coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint, which were all hoarded following the outbreak of the Civil War, the San Francisco coins did circulate.

The effects of the Civil War were minimal in the West, and as a result gold pieces circulated freely. Together with the fact that mintages were fairly small, this has created a number of truly scarce to very rare pieces.

In his Encyclopedia, Breen notes the following of this issue:

“Much rarer in all grades than mintage figure suggests; usually weak VF, Ex. rare in EF, unknown UNC”

Although a very limited number of pieces have graded Mint State in recent times, one has to wonder whether these are true Mint State pieces. The population reports are definitely inflated by resubmissions, which would mean that only 2 or 3 uncirculated pieces exist at most. As a result, this issue is collectable up to the AU grades, although it becomes increasingly hard to find in anything above AU-50. The rarity of this issue in Mint State was soon recognized, but has not resulted in higher prices. In fact, only one coin that was sold at auction in the 20th century was cataloged as uncirculated, and that was the sell of the Bell specimen in 1944!

The rarity of this issue in higher grades, and in all grades as well as this issue remains hard to locate even in lower grades, is truly underestimated. The San Francisco Mint, with the early issues as an exception, has never yielded much specialized collectors. This is opposite to the situation of both the Dahlonega and Charlotte Mints, which coinage has become increasingly more popular in recent times.

If more research were publicized on the relative rarity of the different San Francisco issues, collectors would learn that the San Francisco quarter eagles from this era are usually much scarcer in higher grades than the popular issues of the Southern Mints. Prices would rise, as both collectors and investors would discover the investment potential of these pieces. Up to now, however, this has not yet been done with the result that many of these issues are underrated in today’s market.

In lower grades, this issue remains very scarce, again not bringing much premium over a commonly found issue of this era. Most pieces are fairly well struck, although some weakness is usually encountered in the central areas. The natural coloration of this issue remains from an orange to green-gold color, if found in uncleaned/undipped condition. As usually, cherrypicking is advised to seek out the original examples of this issue, although intensive searching is most likely needed for this rare issue.