For collectors of the Liberty quarter eagles, the 1854-S is considered the ultimate issue. This series presents several challenges, including the 1841 "Little Princess" and other rarities, but just 12 examples of the '54-S are known from the original mintage of 246 coins in April 1854. This issue was entirely unknown in numismatic circles until discovery of the first specimen less than a century ago in 1910.

This issue is a landmark rarity in the field of United States numismatics, a classic piece with few peers. With just a dozen pieces known, it has a rarity similar to coins such as the 1804 silver dollar, the 1907 Ultra High Relief double eagle, the 1927-D double eagle, and the 1894-S Barber dime, all coins that have broken the million-dollar barrier. The record price for an 1854-S quarter eagle is just $254,000.

The roster shows that surviving specimens can be divided into three groups by condition. A single coin is clearly the finest known, followed by this piece and two others that grade XF45, and the remaining eight coins, all in lower grades.

Historical Overview

During the first few years of the California gold rush, commerce was unorganized. Available coinage included those few coins that might have been carried from the East by miners seeking their fortune. Spanish colonial silver coins, including eight reales and fractional pieces provided the majority of small change in the region, while private firms began making various gold pieces from the material that was mined. Private firms produced pieces mostly ranging from five dollars to 50 dollars, while some firms also produced small fractional gold pieces of 25 cents, 50 cents, and one dollar. In addition, individuals carried sacks of gold to exchange for necessities. Paper money did not exist in the region, and in fact was prohibited.

The San Francisco Mint began operations in 1854, after its establishment by Congressional Legislation per the Act of July 3, 1852. After all preparations were made, and the Mint structure completed, operations finally began on April 3, 1854 with the first coins struck less than two weeks later. At first, only gold coins were produced. Small denomination silver coins would not begin until the following year.

Through the remaining months of 1854, production consisted primarily of gold dollars, eagles, and double eagles. Mintage totals included 14,632 gold dollars (all of the Liberty design), 123,826 eagles, and 141,468 double eagles. In addition, 246 quarter eagles and 268 half eagles were coined. This production amounted to $4,084,207 face value in gold coins, utilizing 197,573 ounces of gold. Additional gold received at the Mint was formed into bars for export to London and other markets, although much of the gold destined for export was shipped to the newly created New York Assay Office. Those depositors who desired to use their gold locally requested coins, while others who wished to export their gold requested bars.

These production figures clearly indicated the need for larger denomination gold coins, as well as the need for small change. Initial production of gold coinage in April 1854 included examples of all current denominations except for the three dollar piece. After this initial production, including all of the quarter eagles and half eagles, larger eagles and double eagles were produced through the end of the year, in response to the demands of those who deposited gold at the Mint for coinage.

While the problems of commerce were not completely solved, and private firms such as Kellogg and Wass-Molitor continued to produce gold pieces for a short period, establishment and operations of the San Francisco Mint did much to solve the commercial problems of the region.

Roster of Known Specimens

Over a period of many years, several numismatists have attempted rosters of this issue. Without a single exception, every roster presented to date is factually inaccurate, containing errors and omissions.

The most recent listing appeared in the September 2005 sale of the C.L. Lee coin. The author of that pedigree listing noted: "Compiling a definitive listing of all known 1854-S quarter eagles is a challenge, due to poor photography in past decades, changing appearances of certain specimens, and more misinformation than we care to think about ... We have compiled the following census, based on actual comparison of plates and with a total lack of guesswork. Information which is not clearly provable is indicated as such, and the listing is not put forth in any particular order as we have not examined every piece noted." Sadly, the C.L. Lee roster continued the numismatic tradition of errors and omissions.

The present roster, compiled early in 2007, lists exactly 12 different pieces presented in approximate order by grade, based in part on our personal knowledge of these coins, and in part on past auction grades and descriptions. These 12 coins are numbered from 1 to 12, and a few additional auction appearances follow, lettered A through D with further notations.

1. AU53 NGC. F.C.C. Boyd (World's Greatest Collection, Numismatic Gallery, 1/1946), lot 242; Memorable Collection (Numismatic Gallery, 3/1948), lot 222; New Netherlands (51st Sale, 6/1958), lot 837; later, Harry W. Bass, Jr. (Bowers and Merena, 10/1999), lot 472; Superior (1/2004), lot 792. Acquisition records of Harry Bass indicate that he acquired this coin in October 1974 from an unknown source. Past rosters have incorrectly included the Superior Rio Rancho (lot 89) offering as part of this pedigree chain.

2. XF45 PCGS The Rio Rancho Specimen (Pictured Above), sold by Superior in October 1974 (lot 89), and apparently off the market since that time.Currently certified by PCGS as XF45, this coin exhibits attractive light yellow-gold color with faint traces of green. Only the Bass specimen is clearly finer than this piece. The Rio Rancho specimen is similar in quality to the Smithsonian specimen, and the C.L. Lee coin that set a record price of $253,000 in September 2005. Superior's sale of the Rio Rancho Collection also included a second, lower grade coin that was offered as lot 90 in that sale.

3. XF45 NGC. C.L. Lee Family (American Numismatic Rarities, 9/2005), lot 1128. Reportedly held by several generations of the C.L. Lee Family since the late 1850s.

4. XF45. Smithsonian Institution. Prior provenance unknown. Illustrated by David Akers in his Auction Analysis of Quarter Eagles, in 100 Greatest U.S. Coins by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth, and in Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins by the same authors.

5. VF35 NGC. Davis-Graves Collection (Stack's, 4/1954), lot 825; Norweb Collection (Bowers and Merena, 3/1988), lot 2025; Richmond Collection, Part I (DLRC Auctions, 7/2004), lot 1149.

6. VF25 NGC. Belden Roach Collection (B. Max Mehl, 2/1944), lot 1001; Gilhousen Collection (Superior, 2/1973), lot 184; Rio Rancho Collection (Superior, 10/1974), lot 90; Dr. Franklin Altany (Paramount, 2/1977), lot 589; Windsor Collection (Abner Kreisberg Corp., 11/1981), lot 307; Heritage (2/2005), lot 7584.

7. VF20. Auction '86 (Paramount, 7/1986), lot 1867; Chicago Sale (RARCOA, 8/1991), lot 937.

8. VF20 ANACS. Certified as "XF Details, Damaged, Cleaned." Atwater Collection (B. Max Mehl, 6/1946), lot 2072; Grant Pierce (Stack's, 5/1965), lot 1154; R.L. Miles (Stack's, 10/1968), lot 166; 1973 ANA (Jess Peters, 8/1973), lot 826; 1974 MANA (Kagin's, 304th Sale, 11/1974), lot 1547; Fairfield Collection (Bowers and Ruddy, 10/1977), lot 1544; Scott-Kinnear Collection (Sotheby's, 10/1982), lot 13; Heritage (10/1995), lot 5527; Heritage (9/2005), lot 4337. Illustrated in Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. This lot was not plated in the Atwater catalog. However, B. Max Mehl described the coin: "On the upper left obverse field there is a slight indentation or probably a tiny nick." This matches later plates of this piece, matching no others in the roster.

9. Fine. Wolfson Collection (Stack's, 10/1962), lot 165; S. Hallock DuPont (Sotheby's, 9/1982), lot 85; Herbert Melnick (11/1983), lot 2762; Stack's (400th Sale, 1/1988), lot 366.

10. F12 NGC. Ezra Cole Collection (Bowers and Merena, 1/1986), lot 2546; Superior (10/1989), lot 4037; Superior (5/1990), lot 5431.

11. VG. 1979 ANA (New England Rare Coin Auctions, 7/1979), lot 82; Auction '81 (Paramount, 7/1981), lot 1405; Stack's (5/2000), lot 1194.

12. VG/G. The discovery specimen for the 1854-S quarter eagle. B. Max Mehl; H.O. Granberg; Elmer Sears; John H. Clapp; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. (Bowers and Ruddy, 10/1982), lot 170; Stetson Collection (Bowers and Merena, 5/1993), lot 587.

A. VF. J.F. Bell Collection (Stack's, 12/1944), lot 240. Illustrated in the catalog, but not matched to any of the above. The catalog description calls this piece "Strictly very fine." The piece illustrated appears to be XF or even finer by today's standard, and is most likely the finest known Bass coin, although an exact match of the plates is not possible. In his Complete Encyclopedia, Walter Breen assigned the Bell coin to both the Boyd-Bass specimen, and also to the Farouk specimen.

B. VF. King Farouk (Sotheby's, 2/1954), lot 278. This lot in the Sotheby's sale was a group lot that offered 15 different quarter eagles, described as "Some very fine." The 15 coins comprised a complete set of quarter eagles from 1853 through 1856, including all mintmarked issues. No individual coins were illustrated. Walter Breen provided an earlier pedigree for this coin from Waldo Newcomer and Col. E.H.R. Green, but this is unverified today. Breen also claimed that this was the J.F. Bell coin (see next) and he further gave it a later pedigree to Gilhousen, et al (number 6 in our list above).

C. VF. Menjou Collection (Numismatic Gallery, 6/1950), lot 1326. Not illustrated in the catalog. Walter Breen assigned this piece to the Boyd-Bass finest known specimen.

D. Fine. Abner Kreisberg and Hans M.F. Schulman (2/1960), lot 2592. Described in the catalog as "The obverse is just about Very Fine, Reverse Fine." This piece is illustrated, but the print quality of the catalog has rendered plate matching impossible. Based on assigned grades, this piece is almost certainly not among the first five coins listed above. It is also not the Eliasberg coin, as he owned that piece in 1960. We believe that the Wolfson coin (number 9 in the roster) is the closest match.