1842-O Quarter Eagle (1842-O $2.50) NGC AU55. Mint luster shimmers from within the devices of this branch mint 1842-O Quarter Eagle. No doubt the surface abrasion marks keep this otherwise lovely coin from a mint state grade. Mentioned for the sake of accuracy is a small scratch seen below Libertys eye. The strike is stronger towards the periphery than the centers of the coin on the obverse, which is typical for the date.

However, the reverse strike is above average. Beginning in 1839, the New Orleans Mint was the only branch mint to strike most denominations until the opening of the San Francisco Mint in the 1850s. The first coins produced at this mint were dimes and quarter eagles. Each year between the beginning of August and the end of November, the mint closed because of the annual outbreak of yellow fever.

Pre Civil War gold from the New Orleans Mint is rare because of low original mintages and low survival rates. The 1842-O quarter eagle had an original mintage of 19,800. In its population report NGC has certified 131 coins in all grades. In AU55 there are 16 with 32 better.