Quarter Eagle

The quarter eagle was a coin issued by the United States with a denomination of two hundred and fifty cents, or two dollars and fifty cents. It was given its name in the Coinage Act of 1792, as a derivation from the US ten-dollar eagle coin. Its purchasing power in 1800 would be equivalent to $34.24 today.

Designed by Robert Scot, the quarter eagle denomination was struck at the main mint at Philadelphia, and branch mints in Charlotte (1838-1859 not inclusive), New Orleans (1838-1857 only), Dahlonega (1839-1859), and in later years, San Francisco (1854-1879) and Denver (1911-1925). The first issues weighed 67.5 grains, fineness .9167, until the weight was modified to 64.5 grains and the fineness changed to .8992 by the Act of June 28, 1834. The Act of January 18, 1837 established a fineness of .900. This means that 1837 and later Quarter Eagles contain 0.121 Troy Oz. of gold content.

As relatively fewer coins were struck prior to 1834, combined with their higher gold content (promoting melting for their bullion content), all of the early issues range from scarce to rare. The first issues were struck in 1796. Any proof date prior to 1856 is rare, and will command a premium in any condition. The quarter eagle denomination was officially discontinued in 1933 with the removal of the United States from the Gold Standard, although the last date of issue was 1929.