Lot 2296
1848 $2.50 Liberty. CAL above eagle. NGC graded AU-58. Mostly untoned. A popular coin always in demand. Sutter's Mill in California was the site of the 1848 gold discoveries, leading to the famous Gold Rush of 1849. Late in 1848, an initial shipment of 228 ounces of bullion made its way via military channels (including Secretary of War William Marcy) to the Philadelphia Mint. Marcy instructed Mint Director Robert Patterson to have the gold coined into specially marked quarter eagles. In response, Patterson had struck some 1,389 pieces in December of that year, each with counterstamped CAL. above the eagle on reverse. (The counterstamping was done in a separate procedure while the coin still rested in the die, so as not to cause a flattened spot to appear on the opposite side.)
A still lustrous choice coin with residual faint gold and light heather toning around the devices on both sides. Due to the care with which these were made, nearly all are fully struck, and this is the case here. Only mild softness in the design is present on the eagle's neck feathers and legs, but outside of this limitation, the detail is sharp and bold. Pop 9; 21 finer. (PCGS # 7749) .
Estimated Value $55,000 - 60,000.
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| Realized $71,300 |
