Small Date variety.

Two distinct varieties of quarter eagle were made at the New Orleans mint in 1843: the Small Date and the Large Date. The former is more available and it is probably the most common quarter eagle from this mint. It is easy to locate in all circulated grades and seen from time to time in MS60 to MS62. It is rare in MS63, very rare in MS64 and exceedingly rare in Gem with just two currently known.

You can count the total of Gem New Orleans quarter eagles which exist on one hand. The single best quarter eagle from this mint is the Pittman 1846-O, graded MS66 by NGC, but better than this in my opinion. The next best is the Bass 1843-O Small Date, graded MS66 by NGC, which has been off the market since 2000. There are two more Gems known: an 1847-O in NGC MS65 and the present example.

The two most notable features about this coin are its blazing mint luster and its superb rich orange-gold color. It has clearly never been dipped and it just drips originality with great eye appeal and choice surfaces. There is some die lapping on the obverse, to remove rust, which has weakeneda few of the stars; the centers are razor sharp. To be accurate, there are a few scuffs in the left obverse field and a few mint-made copper spots on the reverse.

Whether you collect Liberty Head quarter eagles by date or you specialize in choice, important New Orleans issues, you will no doubt recognize the historic importance of this Gem.