1848 $2.50 CAL. MS(PCGS#7749)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

3226

等级

AU50

价格

471,288

详细说明

An attractive, minimally circulated survivor of this classic issue with direct links to the California Gold Rush. Vivid rose-orange color blankets both sides, the surfaces of which retain much of the original satin to semi-reflective finish. Lightly struck on the high points of the eagle, typical of the issue, yet with much of the wing plumage bold and the obverse boldly detailed throughout. Wispy handling marks are generally commensurate with the assigned grade, although accuracy compels us to mention a concentration of light pin scratches at the upper obverse border, in the field around star 7.<p>In 1848 some 230 or so ounces of gold bullion from the recently discovered California gold fields was sent to Secretary of War William L. Marcy by Colonel R.B. Mason, acting military governor of California. Marcy turned the bullion over to the Mint, where it was used to strike 1,389 quarter eagles. In order to denote the origin of the gold used for this special limited mintage, the letters CAL. were punched into the upper reverse field above the eagle's head on all the specimens struck. This distinguishing feature marks the 1848 CAL. quarter eagle as our nation's first commemorative issue, produced 44 years prior to the 1892 Columbian Exposition half dollar.<p>Given the popularity of the California Gold Rush era with numismatists and other collectors, the 1848 CAL. has long enjoyed strong demand. Indeed, the acquisition of an 1848 CAL. quarter eagle is a defining moment in the formation of any collection. Survivors are scarce, and appearances on the open market are rare, so much so that even the offering of a lower grade example represents an important opportunity. As an aesthetically pleasing AU, the present coin is sure to see spirited bidding at auction. Ranked #70 in the fifth edition (2019) of the influential reference <em>100 Greatest U.S. Coins</em> by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth.<p><em>PCGS Coin Facts</em> notes:<p><em>The stamping appears to have been done while the coins were still in the press, as none of the obverse features appear to have been flattened...Only a single "CAL." punch was used...Placement of the punch relative to other elements on the reverse varies.</em><p>On the present example, the CAL. is set higher in the field than usually seen, and much closer to the letters TES in STATES than the eagle's head.