1869 Liberty Head $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle Coin

1869 Liberty Head quarter eagles are important collectible coins that collectors value for their history, art, and gold content. Only the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints struck quarter eagles in 1868, meaning there are just two regular-issue business-strike pieces for the collector to pursue.

Here’s a glance at the mintages and values of 1869 $2.50 quarter eagles:

• 1869, 4,320 minted; $541

• 1869-S, 29,500; $529

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

Though the mintages above reflect the fact that thousands of both issues were made, the reality is that perhaps only hundreds still exist today. Many of these pre-1933 U.S. gold coins were melted for their precious metal content. 1869 quarter eagles were made of a “coin gold” composition consisting of 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper. They have a weight of 4.18 grams, contain a total of 0.1202 ounces of gold, and measure 18 millimeters in diameter, which closely approximates the diameter of a modern-day U.S. dime.

Christian Gobrecht designed 1869 $2.50 gold quarter eagle coins. Though Gobrecht served as the U.S. Mint’s chief engraver from 1840 through 1844, perhaps is biggest claim to numismatic fame is having designed Seated Liberty coinage, which ran from the late 1830s through 1891.