1841-D Liberty Head Quarter Eagle. Winter 2-E. MS-61 (NGC).
This pieces offers extraordinary absolute and condition rarity for an early date Dahlonega Mint quarter eagle. Otherwise frosty surfaces reveal decided prooflike reflectivity in the fields — a “very rare” finish for this issue (per Doug Winter, 2013). The color is a warm, even honey-orange with a tinge of pale rose. Impressively sharp in strike by the standards of the issuing mint, the obverse is near-fully defined while the reverse exhibits just a touch of softness to the high points of the eagle. Far smoother in appearance than one might expect at the assigned grade level. Tracing its provenance to the famous John Jay Pittman Collection, this is the CC#3 coin in the 2013 Winter listing, and is a highly significant 1841-D quarter eagle fit for inclusion in the finest Southern gold cabinet. This is the discovery coin for the Winter 2-E die pairing. The author states that this variety "appears to be extremely rare." On the present example, an obverse die crack horizontally bisects the hair curls over Liberty's brow, a reverse die crack extends from the top of the digit 2 in the denomination into the eagle's right talon, and a second crack on the reverse vertically bisects the eagle's head behind the eye.
PCGS# 7722. NGC ID: 25GF.
Combined PCGS and NGC Population: 1; 3 finer (MS-63 finest at both services).
Ex our (Stack's) sale of the Milton Holmes Collection, October 1960, lot 3192; John Jay Pittman; David W. Akers' sale of the John Jay Pittman Collection, Part II, May 1998, lot 1735.