1834 $2.50 Classic Head Quarter Eagle PCGS AU55

Here's a perfect candidate for a gold type coin that won't break the bank. And a very attractive one at that! With an original mintage of 112,234, there is a substantial amount of pieces available to the collector. PCGS has graded 123 examples as AU55, with 319 finer.

The First U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, where this beauty was struck in 1834.

Ron Guth writes in PCGS Coinfacts, "In 1834, Mint officials changed the design on the Quarter Eagles to comply with the new Coinage Act of June 28, 1834, which law reduced the weight of the Quarter Eagles to prevent melting. On the obverse, Liberty no longer wore a cap; rather the design was a copy of that seen on Classic Head Half Cents of 1809-1836 and Large Cents of 1808-1814."

"1834 Quarter Eagles are found with two, slightly different obverse designs. The first, called "Small Head" by Water Breen and others, has tight curls that appear in a near-horizontal arrangement at the back of Liberty's head. The second, called "Large Head" or "Booby Head" by Breen, has looser curls with deep indents between the curls." The example offered by AUCM is the "Large Head" or "Classic Head" type.