1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. MS-62 (PCGS).

$29,500

Elusive Mint State 1839-O Classic Head $2.50

MS-62 (PCGS)

An attractive and superior quality example of this scarce New Orleans issue. The surfaces boasts strong luster and vibrant yellow-gold coloration. Just 12 coins have been graded higher by PCGS, with the MS-65 (PCGS) Pogue specimen from our September 2015 sale ranking as the sole finest. Sitting on the edge of the Condition Census, this lovely MS-62 (PCGS) coin is surely destined for a top-tier collection or Registry Set.

Just 17,781 quarter eagles were struck in New Orleans in 1839. It was a small initial output, but the Mint added half eagles in 1840 and eagles in 1841. As a town built on commerce, New Orleans placed its gold coins into circulation immediately, and quarter eagles from the New Orleans Mint are found well worn more often than specimens of this denomination from any other mint. Some Uncirculated examples of this issue were likely put away by the New Orleans citizenry as souvenirs of the new mint. As the only Classic Head issue of the New Orleans Mint, it is a one-year type coin, adding a special layer of desirability to its historic importance as the first gold issue from our southernmost mint.

Founded by the same document that led to the establishment of branch mints in the backwater mining districts of western North Carolina and northern Georgia, the New Orleans Mint had a different character from the beginning. New Orleans mined not ore, but commerce, and the mint’s bullion came not from nuggets and dust, but from the coins that poured into the port city from Latin America (especially Mexico), Europe, and beyond. In 1842, the assayers of the Philadelphia Mint, Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. DuBois, penned A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, a text that became a road map for some of America’s earliest coin collectors. They describe the nature of the first three branch mints therein: “Two of these were for the coinage of gold only, and were to be situated at the towns of Charlotte in North Carolina, and Dahlonega in Georgia — central points of the gold mining region. The third branch was for both gold and silver, and located at New Orleans, the commercial emporium of the southwest.” Eckfeldt and DuBois report that, from the time the flywheels on its presses first started spinning until the end of 1841, the New Orleans Mint coined over $1.5 million worth of silver coins but just $326,190 worth of gold, far less than the mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega over the same interval. When the melter and refiner of the New Orleans Mint, John L. Riddell, wrote his own book in 1845, he focused entirely upon the sorts of silver coins he encountered in bullion deposits, both counterfeit and authentic. That gold coins were not mentioned at all suggests that they were a comparative afterthought. History supports this, as New Orleans was known at the time as the American gateway to Mexico and Latin America, lands that sent thousands of tons of generally low quality silver coins into the world market every year but, at this point, relatively little gold.

PCGS# 7701. NGC ID: 25G7.

PCGS Population: 11; 12 finer.

Out of stock

SKU: A0001121018 Category:

Description

Previous Prices Realized

Image Grade Description Date Realized
Coin Thumbnail 50 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-27. AU-50 (PCGS). Mar-14 $3,055.00
Coin Thumbnail 53 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. HM-1, Winter-1. Rarity-3. High Date, Wide Fraction. AU-53 (NGC). Jun-22 $4,320.00
Coin Thumbnail 53 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-2, Winter-1. AU-53 (PCGS). Aug-14 $4,112.50
Coin Thumbnail 53 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-1, Winter-2. Low Date, Close Fraction. AU-53 (NGC). Aug-14 $3,525.00
Coin Thumbnail 55 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-1. AU-55 (NGC). Feb-15 $5,434.38
Coin Thumbnail 58 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. HM-2, Winter-2. Rarity-4. Low Date, Close Fraction–Medallic Alignment–AU-58 (PCGS). Aug-22 $10,800.00
Coin Thumbnail 58 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-2. Wide Fraction, Small Arrows. AU-58 (NGC). Nov-19 $7,800.00
Coin Thumbnail 58 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-2. Wide Fraction, Small Arrows. AU-58 (NGC). CAC. Nov-19 $10,200.00
Coin Thumbnail 58 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-2. Wide Fraction, Small Arrows. AU-58 (NGC). Aug-18 $7,200.00
Coin Thumbnail 65 1839-O Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-2. Winter-1. Mint State-65 (PCGS). Sep-15 $76,375.00

** NOTE. All prices realized reflect the final hammer price plus the buyer’s premium. As errors can occur, you should contact each pricing source to determine the accuracy of this information. No item may be returned or refused based on the information provided.

Population Guide

Service Grade Population In This Grade Plus Population In Higher Grade Total
PCGS 62 11 1 11 310
NGC 62 16 0 20 363
CAC 62 3 6 58 –

**NOTE. Information listed is intended to be as accurate as possible, and is being provided to our customers as a service. As errors can occur, you should contact each grading service to determine the accuracy of this information. No item may be returned or refused based on the information provided.

PCGS Pop Guide

Type 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 45+ 50 53 53+ 55 55+ 58 58+ 60 61 62 62+ 63 63+ 64 64+ 65 65+ 66 66+ 67 67+ 68 68+ 69 70 Total
Base – – 1 2 2 – – 1 3 3 7 16 19 33 63 1 42 24 – 27 1 36 – 1 6 11 1 7 – 2 – 1 – – – – – – – – – 310
Percent – – 0 0 0 – – 0 0 0 2 5 6 10 20 0 13 7 – 8 0 11 – 0 1 3 0 2 – 0 – 0 – – – – – – – – – 100

**NOTE. Information listed is intended to be as accurate as possible, and is being provided to our customers as a service. As errors can occur, you should contact PCGS to determine the accuracy of this information. No item may be returned or refused based on the information provided.

NGC Pop Guide

Type 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 45+ 50 53 53+ 55 55+ 58 58+ 60 61 62 62+ 63 63+ 64 64+ 65 65+ 66 66+ 67 67+ 68 68+ 69 70 Total
Base – – – – – – 1 1 1 2 1 11 8 17 40 – 26 42 – 67 – 79 1 6 24 16 – 13 – 6 – 1 – – – – – – – – – 363
Percent – – – – – – 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 4 11 – 7 11 – 18 – 21 0 1 6 4 – 3 – 1 – 0 – – – – – – – – – 100
Star – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 0
Total – – – – – – 1 1 1 2 1 11 8 17 40 – 26 42 – 67 – 79 1 6 24 16 – 13 – 6 – 1 – – – – – – – – – 363

**NOTE. Information listed is intended to be as accurate as possible, and is being provided to our customers as a service. As errors can occur, you should contact NGC to determine the accuracy of this information. No item may be returned or refused based on the information provided.

CAC Pop Guide

Type 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 45+ 50 53 53+ 55 55+ 58 58+ 60 61 62 62+ 63 63+ 64 64+ 65 65+ 66 66+ 67 67+ 68 68+ 69 70 Total
Gold – – – – – – – – – – – – – 1 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 1
Green – – 1 1 – – – – – – – 3 2 3 7 2 6 7 15 – 1 3 3 3 – – – – – – 57

**NOTE. Information listed is intended to be as accurate as possible, and is being provided to our customers as a service. As errors can occur, you should contact CAC to determine the accuracy of this information. No item may be returned or refused based on the information provided.