1879 Liberty Head $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle Coin

1879 Liberty Head quarter eagles are valuable collectible coins that numismatists treasure for their history, art, and gold content. Only two mints, those in Philadelphia and San Francisco, struck quarter eagles in 1879, meaning there are just two regular-issue business-strike pieces for the collector to pursue.

Here’s a look at the mintages and values of 1879 $2.50 quarter eagles:

• 1879, 88,960 minted; $587

• 1879-S, 43,500; $587

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

The production figures listed above reflect much larger numbers of 1879 quarter eagles than actually exist today. This is mainly due to heavy melting of these pre-1933 U.S. gold coins, which were brought to the smelter by the millions after the nation left the gold standard in 1933. Quarter eagles are 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 – approximately the diameter as a current U.S. dime.

Christian Gobrecht designed 1879 $2.50 gold quarter eagle coins. In addition to having served as the U.S. Mint’s chief engraver, perhaps Gobrecht is most widely known for designing Seated Liberty coinage, which was struck from the late 1830s through 1891.