The 1849-O is the rarest quarter struck at this mint and it is one of the rarest No Motto Seated quarters of any date with an original mintage which is estimated to be only around 16,000 coins. When available, this date tends to come very well worn and properly graded EF40 to AU50 coins are, for all intents and purposes, about as nice as this date is found.

This is the nicest EF 1849-O quarter that I have personally seen and it shows lovely deep warm blue and golden-green pastels on the obverse; the reverse is a slightly deeper bend of blue, red and lime. There is some luster visible below the toning and this is unusual for this date as it is almost never seen with luster; even in AU grades. The strike shows some typical weakness on Liberty’s head but the centers are sharper than usual. Another unusual feature is this coin’s clean planchet which lacks the roughness and mint-made “issues” common to the date.

The only other PCGS EF40 example with CAC approval to sell at auction was Heritage 3/12: 3320, which brought $6,613. I believe that the present piece has better overall eye appeal due to its luster and splendid natural color.

This is a wonderful example of one of the key silver rarities from the New Orleans mint.

CAC has approved three in this grade with one finer (best AU58).

Ex Stacks Bowers 1/13: 12334, as ANACS EF40, where it brought $7,050.