LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Dallas Signature Coin Auction #450  / 

1571

1825 $2 1/2 MS61 PCGS. Breen-6128, BD-2, High R.4. The

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1825 $2 1/2 MS61 PCGS. Breen-6128, BD-2, High R.4. The
<B>1825 $2 1/2 MS61 PCGS.</B></I> Breen-6128, BD-2, High R.4. The repunched 5 in the date leans left and is below the adjacent 2; the reverse fraction is centered under the arrow feather. The D in the denomination is quite large. From the earliest days of U.S. federal coinage until 1834, the quarter eagle was strictly an afterthought, produced at sporadic intervals and in minute quantities, likely only to order for customers specifically requesting the "odd" denomination. (The large cent, silver half dollar, and half eagle were the workhorses of early U.S. commerce.) The mintage of quarter eagles for 1825, recorded as 4,434 coins (not necessarily all dated 1825), is a case in point. Although the present BD-2 variety is the "most common" of the year, perhaps it would be more accurate to say it is the "least rare" variety, and in fact, at High R.4 it is still considered "very scarce" according to the modified Sheldon rarity scale. Bass and Dannreuther's <I>Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties</B></I> estimates an issuance from 2,000 to 3,000 pieces of this variety, with 80 to 100 coins known today.<BR> The present example offers a bold strike. All stars are full up to their centers, and the central devices are well detailed, save for a hint of softness at the left (facing) shield border and the nearby left wing. The surfaces are quite lustrous and somewhat prooflike. Although a few light scrapes and field chatter appear to have determined the grade, the piece is highly appealing and high-end for the assigned grade. The obverse is primarily medium yellow-gold, while the reverse shows a bit of mellowed bronze-gold near the rims.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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