$2.50 Liberty Gold Coin (AU)

The quarter eagle coin's design was revamped several times from 1796 until the U.S. abandoned the Gold Standard in 1933. However, no single quarter eagle design stayed almost entirely intact for as long as the Liberty Head, sometimes called Coronet Head, look. Christian Gobrecht worked on this design. Though it was in December 1840 that he took the United States Mint's position of Chief Engraver, he had already been heavily engaged in die and pattern work for the Mint since its second Chief Engraver, William Kneass, was hit with a stroke in 1835.

Kneass was succeeded by Gobrecht in 1840, the year that his quarter eagle was initially produced. This coin has become readily recognizable among historical U.S. coinage - likely largely due to the staggeringly long time over which it stayed in production. It was eventually retired in 1907. However, the coin could also be deemed memorable due to its wonderful simplicity, which captures key symbols of United States history and culture without relying on visual gimmicks. An embodiment of freedom, a youthful Liberty and an open-winged eagle are its most prominent features.

The likeness of Liberty appears to be based on earlier representations, though Gobrecht did not resist making some personal additions. She wears a coronet inscribed with "LIBERTY," while her hair forms a knot. Thirteen stars - the U.S. was itself formed from thirteen colonies - surround her head. A year is specified below the neck's truncation, but the coin's flip side also has numbers - here indicating the piece's face value of two-and-a-half dollars. Above that value, an eagle flies while seemingly wearing, on its chest, a shield visually based on The Stars and Stripes flag.

Two dots separate the mention of the denomination from lettering forming the country's name, United States of America. The eagle, as the country's national bird, could be considered strongly representative of the U.S. itself. This bird often carries peace and war motifs in U.S. iconography. During its time in production, this Liberty quarter eagle had a design that was also used on gold pieces of larger denominations. However, unlike those pieces, the quarter eagle was not modified with the addition of the "In God we trust" motto. This might be because this smaller coin's design already looked crowded; added lettering, therefore, could have lacked sufficient legibility.

Still, a somewhat significant design change did occur when, in 1859, the Philadelphia Mint started using a different reverse hub on which arrowheads and lettering were smaller. 1859, 1860, and 1861 saw quarter eagles of both old and new reverses being made; however, today, coins with the more recent reverses exceed the others in availability. Here, we are presenting the opportunity - should our supply allow this - for you to take possession of a common date Liberty Head quarter eagle. The coin's condition will be graded AU; an alternative code is AU50, but both represent the same score on Sheldon's post-1970s coin grading scale.

That score is 50 out of 70 and is meant to signify that, while the numismatic piece's highest points have traces of wear, its original mint luster has stayed over 50 percent intact.

Features of the Common Date $2.50 Liberty Gold Quarter Eagle AU:

• Condition of Almost/About Uncirculated
• Gold that has an isolated 0.121-troy-oz mass
• .900 fine gold as established by legislation

Orders placed for products that are not a specific year will be fulfilled with coins of any date, based on availability. Orders of multiple coins may be filled with the same year or a variety of years.