BD-1, High R-5.

The 1826/5 is the rarest of the five Capped Head Left quarter eagles produced between 1821 and 1827. Only 760 were struck of which as few as 30-40 are known today. I am aware of only two or three in Uncirculated including a PCGS MS61 I sold recently and the Bass coin which is ex Garrett collection.

This very lustrous example has the body and detail of an AU58 but it shows a few light old hairlines in the fields. The surfaces have naturally toned to a nice medium orange-gold hue and the strike is outstanding for the issue with strong definition seen in the centers and borders.

The most relevant auction comparables for this issue include an NGC AU58 which sold for $44,063 as Stack’s Bowers 2014 ANA: 11022 and a PCGS AU55 which sold for $35,250 as Heritage 3/14: 30214. In my opinion, the current example is nicer than these other two coins.

This is a much rarer coin than the 1796 No Stars and the 1808 quarter eagles but it is priced at a fraction of these two coins due to not being a first-year-of-issue and/or a one-year type. I regard the 1826 quarter eagle as one of the single most undervalued pre-1834 U.S. gold coins.