From time to time, spectacular Proof Liberty Head quarter eagles from the 1900 to 1907 era can be located. But the pre-1890 dates tend to “cap out” at the PR65 to PR66 range, and superb gems with Deep Cameo contrast are exceedingly rare. To wit, here is a complete list of PCGS graded pre-1890 quarter eagles in PR67 Deep Cameo:

1. 1867, PR67DCAM (ex Bass collection)
2. 1881, PR67DCAM (ex Legend Morphy 7/13 sale at $63,250)
3. 1888, PR67DCAM (the coin offered for sale here)

I previously owned the first coin and closely inspected the second when it was last available. I unhesitatingly believe that the 1888 is the finest of these three, and it is by far the single finest pre-1900 Proof Liberty Head quarter eagle I have personally seen.This coin is almost comically “black and white” in appearance with an amazingly strong contrast between the devices and the fields. It appears to have been lovingly preserved since it was made and it clearly has never been cleaned or mishandled in any way. The fields are essentially “as made” and the eye appeal rivals any piece of Brilliant Proof gold that I can recall having seen.A total of 97 Proofs were made of this date and the survival rate is around 50%, meaning that 40-50 are known. It goes without saying that this coin is easily the single finest known for the date; the next highest graded at PCGS is a single PR65+DCAM. NGC had graded one coin PR68 Ultra Cameo and that is this exact coin. I have turned in the old tag and this coin will soon be removed from the NGC Census.

Amazing Proof gold coins of this quality and rarity are almost never available and when they do come up for sale, it is usually in an ultra-competitive auction environment. Here is your chance to own the ultimate 1888 quarter eagle and to make your Proof gold type set something really special.