1864 Liberty Head $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle Coin

1864 Liberty Head $2.50 gold coins are popular among coin collectors who appreciate classic, 19th-century coinage. In 1864, only the Philadelphia mint struck quarter eagles, of which just 2,824 were made. As with all pre-1933 U.S. gold coins, a much smaller number of these pieces remain today than were originally minted, making them quite scarce in today’s collector market.

The value of an 1864 Liberty Head $2.50 quarter eagle in an average grade of Very Fine-20 is about $15,000. Values range higher for better-quality specimens, with MS-60 examples selling for more than $100,000. 1864 quarter eagles are made from a standard “coin gold” composition of 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper. They also weigh 4.18 grams and measure 18 millimeters in diameter, which roughly compares to the breadth of a standard U.S. dime. 1864 gold quarter eagle coins contain a total of 0.1202 ounces of gold.

1864 quarter eagle gold coins were designed by Christian Gobrecht, who had served as the U.S. Mint’s chief engraver. Gobrecht also gained wide acclaim in the numismatic community for designing Seated Liberty coinage, which ran from the late 1830s through 1891.