1861 Quarter Eagle (1861 $2.50 Type 2) Type 2, New Reverse, PCGS MS64. Fresh PQ Civil War Quarter Eagle. This premium quality quarter eagle shimmers with mint luster on both the obverse and reverse. The coin is free of significant contact marks and other distractions, and it could have graded a point or so higher. The strike is sharp on both sides. We see every detail of Libertys hair and each horizontal and vertical line in the shield on the reverse. The coin has a Type II reverse, which Longacre modified in 1859. The new type has smaller arrows that are placed further apart. The bullion for this coin came from Type Is that had been stored.

This quarter eagle is an example of Christian Gobrechts Coronet Design, No Motto, which was minted from 1840 to 1907. The Coronet design replaced the Reich-Kneass Classic Heads. Liberty faces left wearing a coronet instead of a cap. Her hair is tied back in a bun with two large curls coming down her neck and side. Gobrecht corrected the Scotts mistaken heraldry by reversing the positions of the arrows and olive branch in the eagles claws.