By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

For decades, the 1841 $2½ gold coin (Quarter Eagle) has been called ‘The Little Princess.’ David Akers is probably the foremost expert on U.S. gold coins, and he does not know why.

‘The Little Princess’ name is known to have been used by Norman Stack in the 1950s, but he never explained the origin of this name ‘in print.’ In recent years, Heritage cataloguers have frequently cited Norman Stack in conjunction with this name. In early 1988, B&M (New Hampshire) cataloguers linked ‘The Little Princess’ name to Abe Kosoff. He was a dealer, writer and auction firm CEO. Kosoff was very active from the early 1940s to the mid 1960s. While its origin is a mystery, ‘The Little Princess’ name has stuck, and almost all U.S. gold coin experts know of it.
1841 Quarter Eagle – The Little Princess

An 1841 Quarter Eagle is ‘in the news.’ It was reported separately and exclusively on CoinLink.com that Bob Green purchased one on June 1, at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp and Collectible Expo. It is certified ‘Proof-53′ by the PCGS.

Soon after the Long Beach Expo, Green sold his 1841 Quarter Eagle to a collector, who now needs only one date to complete a set of Quarter Eagles from 1796 to 1929. In May 2006, Green sold him an 1854-S, one of ten or eleven known.

Path breaking research regarding the pedigrees of 1841 Quarter Eagles was published by Walter Breen in 1988, and by Mark Borckardt in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Borckardt was then employed by Bowers and Merena (New Hampshire). He is now employed by Heritage. Yet, several Heritage offerings of 1841 Quarter Eagles over the past three years have not resulted in both a clarification and enhancement of Borckardt’s roster.

The 1841 Quarter Eagle is probably a Great Rarity, as it seems that fewer than twenty-five exist.

There are no clear condition rankings in Borckardt’s roster. Generally, there are mysteries surrounding the histories of several of the highest graded 1841 Quarter Eagles.

The Eliasberg-Bass piece is PCGS graded Proof-64 and sold for $178,250 in the Bass 3 sale, May 2000. Borckardt catalogued it. The late Harry Bass had a duplicate 1841. It is or was PCGS graded Proof-60. It sold for $115,000 in the Bass 2 sale, October 1999.

In June 2004, Heritage auctioned an 1841 that is NGC certified “Proof-65 Ultra Cameo.” Unfortunately, I have never seen it. Curiously, in this June 2004 description, Borckardt’s roster is only abbreviated and is said to be “largely the result of research by Walter Breen,” even though Borckardt specifically lists seventeen and mentions other appearances of 1841 Quarter Eagles. Breen listed just twelve, including one that was “not verified.”
1841 Quarter Eagle – The Little Princess

In this same June 2004 description, it was stated that the NGC certified “Proof-65 Ultra Cameo” 1841 then offered in “our [Heritage cataloguers'] opinion [is] almost certainly number 5 on [Borckardt's] roster,” the Menjou-Friedberg-Graves-Pierce 1841 Quarter Eagle. Borckardt, in 1998, 1999 and 2000, however, lists the grade of this coin #5 as “Proof-60.” He does not explain how this grade is determined, nor does he mention who graded it as “Proof-60.” Moreover, it would be helpful and responsible for him to make clear which 1841 Quarter Eagles he had personally viewed. Further, this same coin is said by Borckardt to have been sold in Stack’s 1976 ANA sale for $41,000 and Superior’s February 1991 sale for $66,000.

Even in 1991, the $66,000 result would be low for an 1841 Quarter Eagle that plausibly grades “Proof-65″! According to the CU index, coin markets in general were stronger in Feb. 1991 than in May 2000 when the Eliasberg-Bass, PCGS Pr-64, piece realized $178,250.

While there are legitimate differences of opinion regarding grading, and some grade-inflation has occurred since 1991, the distance between Proof-60 and Proof-65 is tremendous. I wonder if it really is #5 on Borckardt’s list, or if there are some errors in the pedigree for #5? Of those auction appearances listed for 1841 Quarter Eagle #5, are the past descriptions and grades consistent with a coin that is now NGC graded “Proof-65 Ultra Cameo”? It may be true that this piece is not one of Borckardt’s seventeen. If it is not, where has it been all these years?

Coin #3 on Breen’s list is just an afterthought in Borckardt’s study, and is said to be “most likely” a “duplication” of one of the seventeen listed. No evidence is provided, however, that it is a duplicate. It is the 1841 Quarter Eagle that was formerly in the Charles Williams, Clifford Weihman and Cardinal Spellman collections.

1841 $2.50 – PCGS PR-53 Sold by Bob Green

As Charles Williams is known to have had many choice examples of rarities, I wonder if the Williams-Spellman 1841 is the Quarter Eagle that is NGC certified “Proof-65 Ultra Cameo”? In June 2004, Heritage auctioned this “PF-65 UC” 1841 for a record $253,000, which is, by far, the auction record for an 1841 Quarter Eagle.

Another mystery is the NGC certified ‘Proof-55′ 1841 that Heritage has offered in “Exclusively Internet” auctions. The online Heritage archives do not provide historical information about this particular piece.

In my view, this NGC certified “Proof-55″ Quarter Eagle is not the Norweb 1841 that B&M (New Hampshire) sold in March 1988 (Borckardt #6). I have seen the coin that Akers sold in Auction ‘90 (Borckardt #12). It is not that one either. There are at least three others on Borckardt’s roster that it could be.

Other 1841 Quarter Eagles have been sold in recent years. In Jan. 2004, Superior auctioned a -45 grade piece for $86,250. ANR auctioned a PCGS certified “Proof-40” 1841 Quarter Eagle in Sep. 2005. It seems certain that it is the 1841 that was privately sold by Empire (Bowers & Ruddy) in 1961 (Borckardt #15). It brought $92,000 in 2005.

DLRC sold the Richmond example, NGC certified Proof-50, in July 2004. The cataloguer of the Richmond 1 sale, Ron Guth, said that the Richmond 1841 was earlier in the collection of James A. Stack, Sr., who is not related to the family that founded the Stack’s auction firm. Stack’s did auction the James A. Stack 1841 in October 1994, for $66,000. In May 2005, Heritage auctioned this same coin for $103,500.

The Richmond 1841 Quarter Eagle is a very attractive coin, though not as appealing as the one that Bob Green just bought and sold. I thought maybe it grades 40, rather than 50. I have been told that Stack’s graded it as “Very Fine” in 1994, though I honestly have not had a chance to locate a copy of that catalogue.

When I viewed the Richmond 1841 in 2004, my impression was that it had been ‘conserved’ to a light to moderate extent, and I was bothered by it. In other ways, the coin is very likeable. The reverse is a little nicer than the obverse. The light scratches and contact marks in the obverse inner fields are not very noticeable. There are no digs, gouges, or serious defects. When tilted under a light, it still has some flash. Overall, the Richmond 1841 has a pleasing look.

While Borckardt does not list a grade for the 1841 Quarter Eagle in the Smithsonian, of the other sixteen, only one is listed by him with a grade above 60. As mentioned above, he catalogued the Eliasberg-Bass piece, which is PCGS graded Proof-64. The NGC certified “Proof-65 Deep Cameo” piece is not clearly reconciled with Borckardt’s list. Plus, the PCGS has graded two 1841 Quarter Eagles as “Pr-64″ and one as “Pr-62.”

As the other Proof-64 was so listed when the Eliasberg-Bass was auctioned in May 2000, it seems unlikely that it is a resubmission of this same coin. If the Bass pieces were only submitted once before the four Bass auctions, then the Proof-62 and the other Proof-64 would represent one or two in addition, shrouded in mystery.

The online NGC census, as of June 25, lists one Proof-64 Ultra Cameo and does not list the Proof-65 that Heritage auctioned in June 2004. There also seem to be some other errors in the NGC census of 1841 Quarter Eagles. Is the listing of a NGC certified “Proof-58″ 1841 an error? If not, which one would this be? There is no doubt that some of the listings by PCGS and NGC are the result of resubmissions. But, there seem to be one to three high-grade 1841 Quarter Eagles that do not have clear published pedigrees.

All carefully reasoned, educated interpretations of auction records and grading service data would suggest that fewer than twenty-five 1841 Quarter Eagles are known to exist. The 1841 Quarter Eagle is thus a Great Rarity.

While Borckardt’s research is extremely impressive, my guess is that a few listings in his roster of seventeen are repeat mentions of the same coins. In other articles, I have written about the problems associated with employing auction catalogue pictures from the 1948 to 2003 period for pedigree research. Coins tone on their own, and, sometimes, the appearance of a coin is deliberately modified. Furthermore, such pictures tend to be of low quality in general, and are sometimes accidental (or on occasion deliberate) misrepresentations. The relevant point here is that reliance on such pictures for pedigree research is likely to result in an overestimate of the number of different coins of a particular date.

My guess is that Borckardt’s roster of seventeen probably represents twelve to fourteen different coins, and there are probably two to four others that are not itemized within his seventeen, perhaps including the 1841 that is NGC certified “Proof-65 Ultra Cameo.” Further, I suggest that a few have increased in certified grade, or have been certified at a grade-level that is higher than a respective previously catalogued grade, as a consequence of grade-inflation and/or controversial conservation practices? A fair hypothesis is that fourteen to eighteen 1841 Quarter Eagles exist. Though there was a time when it was the most famous, the 1841 is not the rarest Quarter Eagle.

If the 1804 Quarter Eagle with thirteen star reverse (stars on back of coin) were to be considered a separate date, then it would be first or second rarest Quarter Eagle. In 1998, Akers suggested that there are fewer than ten known. Most accepted guides list it as a separate date. In my view, however, it is just a die variety. The difference between the 1804 thirteen star reverse and the 1804 fourteen star reverse is barely noticeable. The reverse stars are all very small and are confined to a crowded area above the eagle.

In order for a second variety of a particular year from a specific Mint to be an additional date, there must be something very different and readily apparent about the numerals in the date, or some difference in the design that can be seen and identified by an intermediate-level collector in a few seconds. While there is more than one die variety, there is only one date for 1804 Quarter Eagles. It is logical to refer to the 1854-S as the rarest and the 1841 as the second rarest Quarter Eagle.

The 1841 that Bob Green just bought and sold is probably #14 on Borckardt’s list, earlier in the 1977 auction of the Donald Herdman collection. As it is not clear who consigned it to the Herdman sale, and Green’s private buyer wishes to remain anonymous, it is simple and factual to call this Quarter Eagle the Green 1841, for now.

The Professional Coin Grading Service makes clear that the Green 1841, is certified as a circulated or impaired Proof by designating it as “Proof-53″ rather than as ‘AU-53.’ There has been much discussion among experts, though, as to whether the 1841 Quarter Eagle is a Proof-Only date. It is certain that some proofs exist. The issue is whether Proof dies were also employed to make business strikes, a somewhat common practice in the 19th century.

The Richmond 1841 Quarter Eagle has substantial remnants of underlying original mirrors, including mirrored areas very close to the design elements (devices). For this and other reasons, my impression in 2004 was that it is clearly a circulated Proof.

Akers maintains that some 1841 Quarter Eagles are business strikes. Though his earlier statements were ambiguous, Akers clearly put forth his view in the Auction ‘90 catalogue, at lot #1841, p. 681. Douglas Winter agrees with him, and has echoed the remarks that Akers made in 1990. Winter has recently asserted that the Green 1841 Quarter Eagle is a business strike. Bob Green concurs.

John Dannreuther has discovered that the same reverse die was used to manufacture Proof Quarter Eagles in 1840 and in several years that followed 1841. (A reverse die is a cylinder fit into a mechanical press to impart the design on the back of each prepared blank as it becomes a coin.) Even so, Dannreuther’s point does not prove the non-existence of 1841 business strikes.

It is theoretically possible that the same reverse die could have been used for business strikes before being used to make proofs again of different dates, at later times. “All the Proof reverse dies of all denominations in the 1840s were saved from year to year and none of these dies is ever found on regular issues,” explained Dannreuther to me. He goes on to say that, if some 1841 Quarter Eagles are business strikes, then they would be “the singular exception to all the Proofs of the 1840s.” Dannreuther has documented his findings in an article in the ANA Journal.

Jeff Garrett strongly believes, as did Walter Breen, that all 1841 Quarter Eagles were struck as Proofs, and Garrett seems certain that all those he has personally seen were so struck. I have carefully examined at least three 1841 Quarter Eagles that grade less than 60. It is my conclusion that the remnants of proof surfaces along with other Proof characteristics demonstrate that they were struck as Proofs.

One factor is the thickness and fullness of the reflective surfaces about the outer devices (letters, numerals, and stars). On the Green 1841, strong mirror surface, for example, is found within the ‘O’ of OF. Mirrors can also be found, to a substantial extent, in between the vertical lines of the shield.

Of particular importance is the relationship between the dentils (teeth at the borders) and the fields. On a Proof, the dentils show evidence that the coin was struck more than once; the dentils are almost at right angles in relation to the fields, and the dentils are higher than they would be on business strikes. A coin need not have all Proof characteristics to be a Proof, and a circulated Proof will have impaired features.

A primary Proof characteristic that cannot be easily explained is the squaring of letters, and especially of the numerals in the date. It is difficult to verify this feature on a circulated coin as the letters and numerals have worn. Further, as gold is a soft metal, letters and numerals tend to get ‘banged up.’ While the ‘8′ in the date seems to be squared, or almost so, the other numerals are questionable.

A factor that is even more difficult to explain is that the surfaces of a Proof respond to contact marks and wear differently from the surfaces of a business strike. The differences are sometimes subtle, or even ambiguous. Nevertheless, I believe that the Green 1841 has (or had) the fabric of a Proof.

Those who think that this coin is a business strike have drawn, or will draw, attention to the rims. In my view, however, numerous pre-1860 Proofs of all denominations have imperfections in the rims, or rims that are not broad and sharp in the way that would be expected of most Proofs of the late 19th century.

On the whole, Proof or business strike, the Green1841, PCGS certified Pr-53, is a very attractive coin, with no serious problems, and a lot of positive characteristics. The 1841 Quarter Eagle is a legendary date that has not received much attention in recent years.

© 2007 Greg Reynolds

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