1847-C Quarter Eagle - 1847-C $2.50 NGC AU53. This Southern branch mint 1847-C Quarter Eagle shows some subdued mint luster remaining in protected areas. The strike is above average with full details seen on the centers of the stars. Most branch mint coins struck before the Civil War are lightly struck in areas and have weak dentils; however, the present piece has strong dentils on both sides. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no notable individual marks.

In the 1790s gold was accidentally discovered in North Carolina. The first United States Gold Rush took place in the early 1800s in North Carolina and Georgia. In the area around Charlotte, North Carolina almost 100 gold mines were in operation. Second only to farming, prospecting for gold became the main source of employment in North Carolina. The most gold produced in the United States came from North Carolina until 1848, when it was discovered in California.

The gold that was produced at Charlotte had to be refined and standardized so it would have commercial value. Private mints like the Bechtlers and Templeton Reids opened to assay the new gold and convert it to coinage. In order to standardize this coinage and because transportation to Philadelphia was so poor as a result of bandits, unfriendly Indians, and poor roads, a branch mint in Charlotte was opened in 1836.

All Charlotte Mint coins have the C mintmark on the reverse except for the first two years quarter and half eagles, which had them on the obverse between the truncation and the date. On the present piece, the mintmark is embedded in the olive branch.