1894 $2.50 (1894 Quarter Eagle) NGC MS64. This mint state 1894 Quarter Eagle gleams with bold radiance on both sides. It is a boldly struck coin with full details on the centers of the stars, Liberty’s hair, the eagle’s neck, and its lower half. No wear is seen, as expected for a mint state coin. For the grade, the surfaces are clean with no distractions that are worthy of individual mention.

Christian Gobrecht’s quarter eagle was produced without substantial modification from 1840 to 1907, the longest span in any United States coinage series. It uses the Coronet design which shows Liberty in profile facing left, her hair tied tightly in beads, except for two curls one down the back of her neck and the other on the side below her ear, with the word LIBERTY inscribed on the coronet. She is surrounded by thirteen stars, and the date is below the truncation. Dentils are around the periphery of both sides. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle facing left holding arrows and olive branch it its talons. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs around it, interrupted by the wing tips, and the denomination 2 ½ D. is below. The denomination is separated from the legend with dots.

In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to William Kneass. After Kneass’ stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif which was used for all denominations of sliver coinage including the half dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and sliver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle.

With an original mintage of 4,000 coins, the 1894 quarter eagle is moderately scarce in all grades. In its population report, NGC shows 30 certified in MS64 with 25 better.