1854-C Quarter Eagle (1854-C $2.50) NGC AU58. This buttery 1854-C Quarter Eagle shows significant amount of mint luster within its devices. Light surface abrasion, consistent with the grade, keeps this coin from a mint state designation. The strike shows some central weakness on both sides, which is typical for this date and mint. A partial knife rim is clearly seen at the upper obverse and somewhat less at the lower reverse, which are diagnostic for the date and mint. The first gold rush in the United States took place in the early 1800s in the South. Gold was accidentally discovered in the 1790s in North Carolina. Once the gold rush had begun, mining was second only to farming as the main source of employment in the area. Until its discovery in California, most of the gold produced in the United States came from North Carolina.

At first private minters like the Bechtlers assayed the oar and dust for the miners in the region. Later a branch mint in Charlotte was opened in 1836. Quarter eagles were struck with the C mintmark in 1838. The mint was closed in 1845 because of an extensive fire that burned the building to the ground. It continued to operate from the next year until the Civil War, when it was taken over by the Confederacy.

Because of extensive melting in Europe, only a tiny fraction of the C mint coinage survives today. The 1854-C had an original mintage of 7,295 pieces. In its population report, NGC shows 20 in AU58 with 19 better.