1840 $2.50 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle PCGS PR53 (CAC)

CAC endorsed and truly amazing! This 1840 gold Proof Liberty Quarter Eagle was thought to be lost to the numismatic community. The last time this coin as a Proof was known to the general public was in 1941, when B. Max Mehl of Fort Worth; Texas conducted the auction of the famous coin collection of William Forrest Dunham. Not much has been written on the 1840 as an issue, but some perspective can be gleaned from David Akers observations on the 1841 Proof Liberty Quarter Eagle: “The 1841 is generally considered to be the most desirable of all Liberty Head quarter eagles. There is no official record of this date having been struck…and I am not convinced that the 1841 is a Proof-only date. First of all, there are far too many specimens known when compared to other Proof quarter eagles (or Proof gold of any other denomination) of the same period. Less than five Proofs are known of every other quarter eagle from 1840 to 1848; and yet I would estimate that at least 12 and possibly as many as 15 1841s are known.” The last 1841 Quarter Eagle to sell at public auction occurred five (5) years ago and certified by PCGS as PR53 – the same grade as this 1840 $2.50. It sold for $164,500. As for our 1840 $2.50, there are rumored to be 3 minted but only 2 known and 1 traced – this coin.