OVERLOOKED UNCIRCULATED 1873-S QUARTER EAGLE

The 1873-S , like many quarter eagles from this mint, is an overlooked issue which is rare in Uncirculated. It is likely that there are no more than 10-12 known in Uncirculated with most in the MS60 to MS62 range. The best I have seen is a PCGS MS64+ which is scheduled to be sold in the upcoming March 2016 Stacks Bowers auction.

This piece is totally fresh to the market and it shows rich natural orange-gold color deepening to splashes of reddish-gold at the left obverse border. The surfaces are free of wear and this piece is strictly “new” unlike so many coins graded MS61. The strike is typical for the date with some weakness at the centers and there is a small rim mark below the 8 in the date that serves as ready identification.

The last PCGS MS61 1873-S quarter eagle to sell at auction realized $2,415 as Heritage 7/07: 13320. This means that almost a full decade has passed since the last APR.

This seems like awfully good value to me at under $3,000 and this is the first Uncirculated 1873-S quarter eagle I’ve offered in over two years.