The Proof 1870 quarter eagle is a tremendous rarity in all grades and only an estimated 10 to 12 distinct survivors are known. With a tiny production figure of just 35 examples, the 1870 is from an era of low-mintage issues that was seen during the Civil War and the two decades that followed. Researcher John W. Dannreuther (2018) notes that the first delivery of 25 coins occurred on February 3, while the remaining 10 coins we not delivered until that summer on June 1. The obverse die was used to strike both the 35 Proofs and the 4,520 Philadelphia Mint circulation strikes for the year.

Proof quarter eagle mintages began to swell in the late 1880s and 1890s, and these are the dates typically included in type sets by today's collector. In contrast, Proof 1870 quarter eagles remain remarkably elusive and "almost never appear in auction or on the floors of major conventions," as explained by Dannreuther.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the March 2021 Showcase Auction, where it sold for $72,000.