The 1848 is one of two Philadelphia quarter eagles from this decade–along with the 1844–which I regard as very overlooked and undervalued. Only 6,500 were struck and examples actually appear for sale with less frequency than the celebrated 1848 CAL. The “regular” 1848 is very scarce in properly graded AU55 to AU58 and it is very rare in full Mint State with probably no more than five or six known.

This example is among the nicer 1848 quarter eagles that I have handled. It is original with attractive medium orange-gold color and a significant amount of mint luster. The strike is better than usual for the date with sharp centers and just a hint of weakness on the eagle’s right (facing) leg. The surfaces are very clean with a few small ticks seen in the obverse fields. I can’t recall having owned a better circulated example of this issue than the current piece.

There have been two recent auction records for AU58 1848 quarter eagles, both in NGC holders and non-CAC approved. The first was ex Heritage 10/11: 4665 while the other was ex Heritage 12/10: 4304 and each realized $3,220. The present example is far nicer than either of these two.

This is a great coin for the date collector of quarter eagles or the collector who is searching for good value.

CAC has approved two in this grade with none finer.

ON HOLD