Seldom Offered Choice AU 1839-D Quarter Eagle with CAC Approval
1839-D Classic Head Quarter Eagle. HM-2, Winter 1-A. Rarity-4. Weak Branch, No Berry. AU-55 (PCGS). CAC. OGH.
The 1839-D quarter eagle is a historic and challenging early gold issue. This exceptional AU-55 example exhibits a blend of hard, satiny luster and deep, vivid honey-orange color to both sides. The surfaces are exceptionally smooth for the grade and retain sharp to full striking detail throughout the design. 1839 was the first year of coinage for quarter eagles at the Dahlonega Mint, the final year of quarter eagle coinage of the design type, and the second of just two years with an obverse mintmark position (the first year, 1838, saw branch mint coinage from only the Charlotte facility). In 1840, Christian Gobrecht's Liberty Head design replaced William Kneass' short-lived Classic Head motif of 1834 to 1839, and the mintmark position was moved to the reverse die. The 1839-D has a modest mintage of 13,674 pieces. The foremost experts in this series agree on the number of coins extant, with Doug Winter ( Gold Coins of the Dahlonega Mint: 1838-1861, 2023 edition) estimating 225 to 275 and Daryl J. Haynor ( United States Classic Gold Coins of 1834-1839, 2020) stating a more precise and conservative 225. The former author ranks the 1839-D as the 14th rarest of 20 Dahlonega Mint quarter eagle issues. Haynor ranks the 1839-D as the third rarest Classic Head quarter eagle after the 1838-C and 1839. "Compared to the other dates," the author states, "the 1839-D is more proportionally found in the lower grades of Fine and Extremely Fine." It is particularly noteworthy, therefore, that our consignor acquired this impressive Choice AU coin with CAC approval to represent the 1839-D. The two varieties of this issue combine a single obverse with two reverse dies. Both are of similar availability in numismatic circles, with a slight edge in scarcity going to HM-1, Winter 1-B. On HM-2, represented here, the branch of the olive stem on the reverse is weak and has no berry.
PCGS# 7700. NGC ID: 25G5.
CAC Stickered Population: 13 in all AU grades; 2 in all Mint State grades.
From the Srotag Collection. Earlier from Heritage's sale of the Ellijay Georgia Collection, January 2020 FUN Signature Auction, lot 5159.