With no circulation strike Philadelphia Mint quarter eagles produced — and no 1841 Philadelphia quarter eagles listed in any Mint reports at the time — this issue has always had an elegant historical mystique. The focus of this issue's interest overlaps with the importance of this choice Proof specimen: why is nearly every known example circulated? It seems unlikely that any were struck specifically to circulate, as the Mint's bullion controls would make the subtraction of the necessary gold from one side of the ledger not balance with mintage figures on the other side. Proof coins, however, were coined by a different department and not listed on mintage reports, as their metal did not come from the standard bullion fund. Dannreuther suggests that it is possible that a significant proportion of the 1841 quarter eagles were struck for one Mint customer who then distributed them at an event to non-numismatists - folks who spent them instead of saving them. The example shown on this page came from an 1841 Proof set located in England before 1933, the year of Waldo Newcomer's death and the terminus ante quem of his acquisition of this coin. Only three or so 1840 and 1842 quarter eagles are known in Proof, suggesting that perhaps that was the typical demand for gold Proof sets in this era. That figure circumstantially supports the reason that only three Proof-60 or better examples of the 1841 quarter eagle survive outside the Mint Cabinet. As for the others, your cataloger wonders if they weren't distributed as prizes or gifts by a single generous benefactor to the demographic most likely to spend them: children. Abe Kosoff anointed this much-beloved issue with a childlike nickname: The Little Princess. While more numerous than other Proof quarter eagles of the era, its legend and historical importance surpasses those delicacies.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the D. Brent Pogue Part VII Auction, where it realized $408,000.