1796 no stars quarter eagle in Heritage sale

[Higashiyama]

I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on this coin.

 

From the image, there appears to be a terribly disfiguring mark around Miss Liberty's eye, which for me would ruin the fun of owning such a cool and historic coin. If the image is accurate, it seems this should bring well below MS money.

[TomB]

As soon as I read the title, I thought of you, and there you were. However, there is no image as far as I can tell.

[keithdagen]

Heritage has moved to photoing their inventory instead of scanning it, and I can't translate the new material anymore.

 

Why this coin isn't being offered in a major auction is beyond me though.

[Higashiyama]

Here is the reference to the quarter eagle: 1796 2 1/2

[Wihlborg]

Higashiyama,

 

I agree. There does seen to be something terribly wrong with Miss Liberty's eye. I can’t tell what it is, but it looks like it might be a gouge. Personally I would not buy that coin, as I would never be happy when looking at it.

 

John

 

[TomB]

Sorry for missing the source in your title, I had thought you were referencing an image that you were attaching.

 

I agree with Keith in that I cannot really tell what coins look like from Heritage images any more as they are now not scanning all their coins. Consequently, they appear extraordinarily lustrous and, until I win a few lots of theirs that are imaged like this, I really couldn't tell you what I think it will look like. It is strange, though, that the coin is MS60. Do you think there are plenty of hairlines?

[BankNote1]

I don't really see anything wrong with the coin. It looks as if it has been cleaned but so have most early coins. The coin is graded MS60 not MS67!

[BillJones]

I can't get the close-up image to down load on the brouser that I am using. Generally all of the 1796 quarter eagles that I have seen in the low end MS grades have been AU coins. This coin looks like an AU coin to me.

 

I've seen a couple of AU graded coins for a little less than $100K that were worthwhile. The low end MS graded coins sell for $100K + to $250K, and usually are not worth it IMO.

 

This is one of the prime type coins in the U.S. series. It's landmark for any collector to acquire one. It's on a par with the 1796-7 half dollar and the king of the type coins, the 1808 quarter eagle. There are are ugly 1796 quarter eagles, but for most collectors, just owning one is a major accomplishtment.