1849 Liberty Head $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle Coin

1849, which perhaps most famously marks the early period of the Gold Rush period in California, saw substantial production of gold coins, including the $2.50 quarter eagle. 1849 Liberty Head $2.50 quarter eagles are historic gold coins that numismatists have long enjoyed collecting. 1849 gold quarter eagles were produced at the Philadelphia, Charlotte (C), and Dahlonega (D) mints. While all 1849 gold coins are rare by every measure, those struck at the Charlotte and Dahlonega mints are the rarest in terms of overall availability; these coins were not saved in substantial quantities to begin with, and most have been lost or melted.

Here is a glance at the mintages and values for 1849 Liberty Head quarter eagle gold coins:

• 1849, 23,2949 minted; $662

• 1849-C, 10,220; $1,650

• 1849-D, 10,945; $2,000

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine-20, unless otherwise noted.

Liberty Head quarter eagle gold coins are made from a 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper composition, which is the ordinary “coin gold” alloy for gold coins of the time period. 1849 Liberty Head $2.50 gold coins weigh 4.18 grams and have a diameter of 18 millimeters. That makes them roughly the same diameter as a standard U.S. dime. These gold quarter eagle coins contain a total of 0.1202 ounces of gold.

1849 $2.50 gold coins were designed by legendary engraver Christian Gobrecht. He served as the U.S. Mint’s chief engraver and is also well noted as the designer of Seated Liberty coinage, which ran from the late 1830s through 1891.