1837 $2.50, PCGS GENUINE, “AG DETAIL-MOUNT REMOVED”

HM-3, R-7. An exceedingly rare variety.

From the Stack’s Bowers 2022 sale of the Daryl Haynor Collection and described as follows:

PCGS AG Details--Mount Removed. The Virginian Collection Specimen. Ex our Chicago ANA Auction of August 2019, lot 2016; the Virginian Collection. The present example.

This coin was discovered by the consignor to our August 2019 Chicago ANA Auction, in which it was certified Good Details--Mount Removed by NGC. The HM-3 die pairing was confirmed by Stack's Bowers Galleries during cataloging for that sale. The level of preservation precludes confirmation of the original mint finish or method of manufacture, thereby explaining why it has not been certified as a Proof by either PCGS or NGC.

All confirmed examples of the 1837 HM-3 die marriage are either Proofs or presumed Proofs, although admittedly the Virginian Collection specimen is at such a level of preservation that the original finish and method of manufacture are no longer discernible. As one of only six coins known of a pre-1859 Proof gold issue, however, its importance cannot be overstated. The coin is a major numismatic rarity, to be sure, and it would serve as a highlight in an advanced collection of Proof gold despite its preservation.

All known Proof 1837 quarter eagles are more or less softly struck in and around the centers on both sides. This is due to the presence of one or both of the aforementioned obverse die cracks that are associated with the surviving examples. These cracks interfered with metal flow into the deepest recesses of the dies during striking and, hence, resulted in incomplete definition to the highest elements of the design. The latest known die state for the issue with the most advanced cracks, represented by the Ferrandelli specimen, is the most softly struck of the high grade examples that we have been able to examine either in person or through high-quality images. On the obverse, Liberty's hair curls above and below the headband are quite soft, as are those at the back of the neck. The leading half of the headband itself is also very weak with the letters L and E soft, the top half of the I indistinct, and the B so faint as to be almost indistinguishable. The reverse exhibits a similar quality of strike in this late die state with the left shield border indistinct, as well as the adjacent feathers in the eagle's left (facing) wing and left (facing) leg. The left (facing) leg, in particular, is blunt and devoid of detail, although a loupe does reveal some detail in the talons. Additionally, the eagle's neck feathers are a bit softly defined, though some bolder definition is noted in that area.

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