Quarter Eagle

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The quarter eagle was a coin issued by the United States with a denomination of two hundred and fifty cents, or two dollars and fifty cents. Its name was derived from the US ten-dollar coin, which was called an "eagle".

Note: It is a common misconception that "eagle"-based nomenclature for gold U.S. coinage was merely slang. This is not the case. The "eagle," "half-eagle" and "quarter-eagle" were specifically given these names in the Coinage Act of 1792.

Designed by Robert Scot, the quarter eagle denomination was struck at the main mint at Philadelphia, and branch mints in Charlotte (1838-1859 not inclusive), New Orleans (1838-1857 only), Dahlonega (1839-1859), and in later years, San Francisco (1854-1879) and Denver (1911-1925). The first issues weighed 67.5 grains, fineness .9167, until the weight was modified to 64.5 grains and the fineness changed to .8992 by the Act of June 28, 1834. The Act of January 18, 1837 established a fineness of .900.

As relatively few coins were struck prior to 1834, any early dates are extremely rare. The first issues were struck in 1796. Any proof date prior to 1856 is rare, and will command a premium in any condition. The quarter eagle denomination was finally discontinued in 1929.