a neat and historical strongly cameoed choice proof civil war era gold coin

[michael]

here is an interesting coin that is extremely historical

 

1862 proof strongly cameoed choice proof quarter eagle with the eye appeal of a much higher grade but still only a technical choice proof nonetheless

 

it is deep/ultra cameo but the photo does not show as such and it is a technical choice proof grade

 

what makes this coin so special is its historical appeal

and that if the coin was a business strike choice mintstate coin it would be worth more and be extremely rare

 

not that as a civil war proof gold coin it is common but nonetheless the above is still true

 

so there is considerable date pressure from a collector that wants a choice to gem example and they have to go to the proofs as the highest grade available in mintstate from pcgs/ngc are 6 ms64 with none higher and even with the proofs there are only 2 ngc proof 66 with none higher and only 4 proof65 at both pcgs and ngc and i would say that there are out of an original mintage of approx. 30 proofs struck maybe 12 known and the pops at pcgs have not changed in over 7 years along with a close second at ngc but you can tell/educated guess that someone tried some upgrades and also some tags not returned

 

the civil war proof gold coins also have a particular look that is just fantastic and this look you do not see after this time period. of course since the mintages for proof civil war gold is low most if not all of the coins are cameo/deep-ultra cameo and you will find many of these proof coins with planchet flakes, flaws, pits and lint marks along with die stress marks which is usually associated with the larger demoniations like eagles and double eagles

 

also on this particular 1862 proof quarter eagle it does not have any of the above but it does have a strike through which is seen on many of these coins during this time period located on the shield on the reverse that most if examining this coin in person sight seen would miss but it can be seen in the photo

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY THE LOOK OF THESE CIVIL WAR GOLD COINS

AND especailly so with this 1862 proof quarter eagle

 

how the mint in philly polished these coins remains a mystery and i have my own opinions as such but it would be too long to go into it here but the fields where imparted with a great texture that was extremely reflective

 

and by way of explaination i would say to a non specialist collector of proof civil war gold that the fields are basically like an orange peel that has been highly polished to fantastic reflectivity and to a trained eye knowing what to look for with a 10x loupe there is much texture to the fields with the characterastic wonderful rich orange-gold fields

 

and this is NOT SEEN ON THE proof quarter eagles of the 1880's and later and these later proof quarter eagles are just always available on the market and are usually available in higher grade and these coins do have a nice look to them but they just look like modern deeply mirrored deep cameo proof coins yes they are all flashy but are all the same cookie cutter widget look and without the wonderful orange highly reflective fields and orange gold coloration of the civil war proof gold

 

this coin is neat as there are basically choice mintstate 1862 business strike quarter eagles available as specie payments where suspended in 1861 and where not paid out at the treasury as it took about twice the amount if not more in usa federal issued greenbacks to buy the face value of federal issued gold coins so no gold was paid out by the treasury and most of the 1862 quarter eagles where sent to south america and many that where leftleft at the mint where melted and those released saw heavy circulation in later years

 

in fact ngc and pcgs have again only certified 6 ms64 coins and it is my opinion that some of these are resubmissions

 

as an interesting side note many 1862 quarter eagles were made from older damaged worn out gold dollars from earlier years held in the subtreasury and the 2 in the date is repunched and the coin overall is deeply impressed from the dies showing more than the usual defination of miss liberties curls and locks than is usually seen even on well struck business strikes

 

choice proof civil war gold coins are truly the caviar of american coinage

 

 

michael

[Techno_mike-migration]

Awesome!

 

This is a beautiful coin and the info was very interesting. I don't know much about gold other than $2.5 Indians, but I love this classic design.

[Newmismatist]

 

Well I tried - thought I could get the image up in the post for Michael, but it didn't work (works on out TCCS boards, but apparently not here) - Nice coin - I used to collect proof gold, and the very nice examples are hard to find. But, the orange peel surfaces do appear on later proofs - I've seen it 1st hand as I've owned several.

 

 

[michael]

thanks for trying ron but i still do not know how to upload the photos on here

 

there are later gold proofs that have the orange peel but they do not have the same combination of color surfaces and the way the mirrors sit and look on the coin as do the civil war era proof gold

 

 

 

michael

[DirtyGoldMan]

Nice coin and discussion.

 

[jom]

thanks for trying ron but i still do not know how to upload the photos on here

 

I think you have to upload the picture to a server then reference the pic (ie the address) from the server using the "Image" UBB code. That's how I do it anyway. For example, I could take the pic you put in the attachment and put it on MY server and reference it from there.

 

Such as:

 

 

 

jom

[michael]

thanks jom

 

michael

[Hoot]

Michael - this is a wonderful post and it demonstrates your keen understanding of these coins. your understanding of 19th century coinage is second to none.

 

Questions:

 

the civil war proof gold coins also have a particular look that is just fantastic and this look you do not see after this time period.

 

Can you be specific? Is it the combination of orange colored gold, orange peel effect, and high reflectivity? Is there more?

 

how the mint in philly polished these coins remains a mystery and i have my own opinions as such but it would be too long to go into it here but the fields where imparted with a great texture that was extremely reflective

 

I want to know!

 

orange gold coloration of the civil war proof gold

 

Do you know the source for most of the Civil War era gold? Montana and/or South Dakota?

 

most of the 1862 quarter eagles where sent to south america

 

Why?

 

Hoot

[HaydenTubbs]

Michael,

An absolutely stunning,superlative piece.

What does this beauty grade?

-Hayden

PS Now I've got drool all over the keyboard,and it's all your fault.

[Oldtrader3]

Beautiful coin Micheal, and lots of great information.

 

Hoot, I wonder if some this gold may have been imported from rich placer deposits in eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia. This gold could have been shipped down the eastern seaboard or the St. Lawrence river to Lake Erie and the Erie canal. It would make sense since some of the business strike coins must have been specie to Britain for muskets, etc.

[michael]

hi there hoot and thnaks for the nice comments

 

i grade the coin a nice proof63 with the eye appeal of a gem proof grade and it is a really strong cameo on the edge of deep/ultra cameo

yes hoot it is a combo of all these three things now there are later gold pieces in proof that have this too but all the civil war era proof gold from ones to double eagles have these three combos that is inmistakeable to civil war era proof gold

i really do not know hoew the philly mint did this but i am writing a small monograph on as such and i will send you a copy when it is done hoot!!!!

 

the 1862 mintage if gold coins came from melted down gold dollars from the ny subtreasury so pre 1862 gold coins could be any mint

 

well most of the 1862 2.5 gold coins whewre not released from the mint until after the civil war and many weht for international gold payments to south america and i th8ink where circulated and many melted

[michael]

[BankNote1]

I must be crazy! I don't see any coin! Michael's coin must be a ghost?

[michael]

[#@$%!!!]

 

let me try to see if i can post thiscoin here

sorry

[michael]

okie i got it see the above posyt sand clivk on attanchment

 

i had better wake up and gret out of the daze i am in

 

 

well it aint ever going to happen

[Hoot]