Desert Gold Philadelphia Complete
1840 $2.50

Owner Comments:

The 1840 quarter eagle is an overlooked first-year-of-issue that is far rarer than generally believed. It is by far the scarcest of the three gold denominations struck at the Philadelphia mint in this year and if it were not for a small hoard of high grade pieces that came onto the market in the early 1990’s, it would be nearly unavailable above AU55. The present example shows a typical strike for this issue with very weak radial lines in the stars and flatness at the centers; especially on the reverse. There is a good deal of luster remaining and the surfaces show light rose and golden-orange color. As on nearly every 1840 quarter eagle that I’ve seen, the fields are a bit “ticky” but this piece is solid for the grade. It has been a few years since I’ve had an example of this date in stock and I think that at well under $3,000 this piece is an outstanding value.