1848 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

1848 marked a turning level for United States gold coinage. In January, James Wilson Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill, setting off an enormous wave of migration to the newly acquired western territories and presenting Congress with a collection of questions that may not solely settle the West and put money into essential infrastructure but in addition additional inflame the divisions that may result in the American Civil Conflict.

Transporting California gold to the jap mints was harmful, costly, and sluggish. Whereas a small quantity was coined in 1843, having been deposited by Los Angeles dealer Abel Stearns, and a sluggish trickle of California gold did make its manner eastward from that time ahead, the invention of 1848 blew the doorways huge open.

Coin manufacturing in the USA was largely dealt with by the Philadelphia Mint, which had as its protection space essentially the most populated areas of the nation. Second to Philadelphia was New Orleans, which produced cash in silver and gold, drawing largely from Mexican imports. The Charlotte and Dahlonega mints, which opened alongside the New Orleans facility in 1838, dealt with respective trickles of regionally sourced gold.

In 1848, Philadelphia struck its almost full praise of cash for circulation, omitting solely the Braided Hair Half Cent, of which it struck a handful in Proof. The small variety of Liberty Head Quarter Eagles it produced had been handily outnumbered by that 12 months’s output of Liberty Head Half Eagles and Liberty Head Eagles.

A small subset of the 1848 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle consisted of 1,389 cash struck in late December from California Navy Governor Richard Mason’s deposit of California gold. After being produced, these cash had been counterstamped “CAL.” above the eagle’s head on the reverse by United States Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre.

The historic nature of the cash has given the 1848 “CAL.” a everlasting placement among the many nice numismatic objects of American historical past. But regardless of its decrease mintage, the 1848 “CAL.” is way more widespread in Mint State than the 1848 “Plain”. No plain 1848 Liberty Quarter Eagle has graded MS65, whereas the “CAL.” might have greater than a dozen survivors at this stage.

The 1848 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle’s shortage grew to become evident to all within the Nineteen Fifties after J.F. Bell (the pseudonym utilized by Jacob Shapiro) included the coin on his need checklist after discovering that the main sellers didn’t have any in inventory. A probably apocryphal story put forth by Walter Breen is that some (in all probability circulated) 1848 plains had been used to make phony 1848 CAL. examples. If true, this can be a topic that hasn’t garnered a lot consideration in recent times.

In circulated grades, the 1848 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle is typical for the interval and garners a large numismatic premium over spot worth. The worth of those cash largely relies on the coin’s state of preservation and eye enchantment. Count on to pay between $1,200 and $2,000 for cash within the XF to low AU vary.

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1848 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle Market Information and Noteworthy Specimens

High Inhabitants: PCGS MS63 (2, 2/2024), NGC MS64 (1, 11/2024), and CAC MS61 (2:0 stickered:graded, 11/2024).

• NGC MS64: High quality Gross sales Company, March 1972, Lot 1165; “The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Assortment,” Bowers and Merena, October 1999, Lot 413; “The Charleston Assortment,” American Numismatic Rarities, September 18, 2005, Lot 1106 – $20,700. Tick to the left of Liberty’s neck. Tick on the proper tip of star 2. Mark below bun. On the reverse, there’s a copper spot simply above E. Tick on the numerator. Eagle’s left leg weak.
• NGC MS63 #1997707-001: Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2019, Lot 4621 – $12,000. Two skinny scratches on jawline. Ticks to the left of Liberty’s nostril. On the reverse, eagle’s left leg weak. Diagonal striations.
• PCGS MS62 #41954961: Del Loy Hansen. Imaged on PCGS CoinFacts. Diagonal reduce beneath star 1. Two hits on the second 8 of the date. Lengthy skinny scratch to the proper of stars 3 and 4. Diagonal hit beneath star 9. Diagonal reduce within the decrease proper obverse area to the left of star 11. Hit on eyebrow. On the reverse, thick despair on rim at 12 o’clock. Diagonal hit to the proper of the eagle’s head. Eagle’s left leg weak.
• NGC MS62 #3163881-012: “The Findley Assortment,” Heritage Auctions, January 9, 2009, Lot 5202 – $5,750. Laminated planchet between stars 9 and 10. On the reverse, eagle’s left leg weak.
• NGC MS62 #1750133-005: “The Mississippi Assortment,” Heritage Auctions, September 19, 2008, Lot 3276 – $6,900. Small tick to the proper of star 4. Round streak alongside the underside of stars 8 to 11. On the reverse, eagle’s left leg weak. Diagonal striations. 
• NGC MS62 #1655903-001: Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2008, Lot 3852 – $8,050. Small planchet void above star 1. Tiny tick to the higher left of star 12. Tick above the tip of Liberty’s nostril. On the reverse, eagle’s left leg weak. Gentle discoloration across the denomination to the second A of AMERICA.
• PCGS MS62: Heritage Auctions, August 16, 1996, Lot 8167 – $7,480. High pop, pop one when supplied. Not imaged.

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1848 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle Coin Specs

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