The 1839 is the rarest Classic Head quarter eagle, even more so than the heralded 1838-C and 1839-D issues. There are an estimated 100-125 known with most in the VF-EF range. Properly graded Choice AU’s are scarce but examples with fully natural color and choice surfaces are almost never available.

This is the single nicest circulated 1839 quarter eagle that I can recall having seen or handled. It shows little actual wear beneath attractive natural russet and orange-gold coloration which is similar in hue on both sides The surfaces are extremely clean and a good deal of mint luster can be seen below the aforementioned coloration. It is very likely that this piece has never been cleaned or brightened and it has superlative overall eye appeal for an issue which is seldom found with a pleasing appearance.

A PCGS AU55 example with CAC approval sold for $5,581 as Heritage 1/14: 6420. In my opinion, it was not as pleasing as the current 1839 quarter eagle.

An important opportunity for the date collector of Classic Head quarter eagles.

CAC has approved two in this grade with three finer.