1862 Quarter Eagle - The mintage of quarter
eagles in 1862 was just a fraction of the total output of
the previous year. 98,508 pieces were produced for circulation,
still a fair amount but low enough to create a very scarce
coin in higher grades. No gems have been graded by either
PCGS or NGC, and the few uncirculated survivors are seldom
higher than the lowest uncirculated grades. Circulated coins
are scarce as well, but can be located without much difficulty.
According to Breen, in his Encyclopedia,
a total of 8 pairs of dies were used for the coinage of
this issue. One of the obverse dies is considered to be
an overdated 1861 die, which had remained unused during
the previous year. The genuineness of this overdate is questioned,
as the remnants of the underdigit are unclear. Garrett-Guth,
in their reference on gold coinage, mentions that it could
be “an inverted 2 that was first punched into the
die and then repunched”.
The variety was discovered in 1962 by Aubrey
Bebee, who considered it to be an “extremely rare
variety”. More examples have turned up in recent years,
but the variety remains rare with collector demand high
due to publication in major numismatic works. The finest
known are a couple of MS-62’s, graded in recent years.
However, as usual, it can be assumed that the population
numbers are largely inflated by multiple resubmissions of
the same coin, and that the true number of uncirculated
examples is much lower.
In uncirculated grades, as previously mentioned,
the regular 1862 quarter eagle is very scarce as well. No
gems have been graded by any of the major grading companies,
with the finest being a few MS-64’s. Most of these
are locked up in major collections, and specialists should
not miss any opportunity to buy one. Prices are relatively
low, as collector demand for these quarter eagles is relatively
low. With the sesquicentennial of the Civil War coming up,
however, the Civil War dates should see an increase in demand
during the next few years, together with rising prices.
A total of 35 Proofs were produced for
collectors in 1863, of which approximately 15 coins survive
in all grades (Breen estimated as much as 18 pieces, and
low-ranges have been 11 to 13). Most of the surviving examples
are in higher grades, but are also locked up in specialized
collections. As a result, this is a rarity that only seldom
appears at auction, but is underrated due to the rarity
of the next date, which had a similar mintage but no business
strikes produced. Deep Cameo pieces, and even Cameo pieces,
are in the distinct minority. One of the finest known is
the Bass coin, graded PR-64UCAM by NGC which sold for $43,125
in early 2007.
All 1862 Proof quarter eagles, as do the
earlier dates, have the type 2 reverse, introduced in 1859
for both Proofs and business strikes. This reverse has much
smaller letters then previously, along with smaller arrowheads.
Another identifier for a genuine 1862 Proof quarter eagle
is on the obverse, where the last digit is partly filled.
Again, it is unsure if this is an overdate while it seems
unlikely, although Breen speculated that it might be an
overdate. This has never been confirmed in recent years,
and given the rarity of these pieces most researchers have
never seen an example to confirm.
