CHOICE AND RARE 1855-D QUARTER EAGLE

The 1855-D is the second rarest quarter eagle from this mint after the 1856-D. Only 1,123 were made of which five dozen or so exist. The typical survivor grades EF40 to AU50 but most have been cleaned and a good number are made on defective planchets which show splits or laminations. Collector grade 1855-D quarter eagles are almost never available and this date is extremely hard to find with natural color and choice surfaces.

This fresh-to-the-market example is probably the single nicest EF graded 1855-D quarter eagle that I have handled. It is well detailed and evenly worn with nice natural russet colors on both sides. The detail is consistent with the assigned grade and other than an old scrape between stars eight and nine on the obverse, the surfaces are nearly perfect. In addition, there is dirt and “crust” in the recessed areas; an indication of this coin’s extreme originality.

Only two EF45′s have sold at auction since 2010 and the better of the two brought $10,869 as Heritage 3/14: 30268.

In my opinion, this choice piece is nicer than many 1855-D quarter eagles in AU50 and AU53 holders and it is certainly the nicest EF45 which is likely to be available to collectors.

CAC has approved this one coin in EF45 with six finer.