1846 Liberty Head $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle Coin

1846 Liberty Head $2.50 quarter eagles are historic gold coins that numismatists enjoy collecting. 1846 gold quarter eagle coins were made at the Philadelphia, Charlotte (C), Dahlonega (D), and New Orleans (O) mints. While all 1846 gold coins are scarce by every measure, pieces from the Charlotte and Dahlonega mints are the most rare 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 1846 Liberty Head quarter eagle gold coins:

• 1846, 21,598 minted; $595

• 1846-C, 4,808; $1,700

• 1846-D, 19,303; $1,850

• 1846-O, 62,000; $627

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

Liberty Head quarter eagles consist of a 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper composition – the ordinary “coin gold” alloy for gold coins of the time period. 1846 Liberty Head $2.50 gold coins weigh 4.18 grams and have a diameter of 18 millimeters, which means they are roughly the diameter of a standard U.S. dime. These gold quarter eagle coins contain a total of 0.1202 ounces of gold.

1846 $2.50 gold coins were designed by 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.