1837 Proof Quarter Eagle Discovered by Heritage!

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers (HG&A) will offer a rare 1837 Classic Head Quarter Eagle variety, only the third known example, with two vertical shield lines, rather than the usual three lines, at their official January 3-7, 2006 Florida United Numismatists Signature Auction.

"During the cataloging process for our upcoming F.U.N. auction, Brian Koller made a very significant, and very exciting discovery," said Greg Rohan, President of HG&A. "Brian, our Catalog Production Manager, brought this piece to the attention of our Senior Cataloger, Mark Borckardt, who confirmed that this is the third known example of this particular variety, and one of only two available to private collectors, the third residing in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute."

"This extremely rare variety shows two line vertical stripes in the shield," Rohan continued. "The 7 in the date is recut, and the A in STATES is high. This is, quite possibly, a Proof-Only variety. The other possibility is that this is the only known non-Proof example of this die marriage. A couple of prominent die cracks bisect the obverse. It displays considerable proof or prooflike luster, but hairlined, and the initials E.A.G. are nicely engraved above the eagle."

"This coin is a bit softly struck in the centers, as are the other known examples, both which are Proof examples," Rohan said. "This is only the third example of the die marriage that we have seen or heard of. One example of the variety, as mentioned previously, is currently in the Smithsonian Institution holdings, and another, a Gem Proof, was sold in May 2000 as part of the Harry Bass Collection. That coin had one of the two die cracks, through star 8 and down to TY and the digit 7. However, the other crack apparent on the present coin, through star 6 and across the face to the chin and the lower border just below star 1, was not present on the Bass coin. The reverse has a faint crack through A of STATES, also not present on the Bass coin. If we are correct in our analysis, this is an incredibly important opportunity for those collectors of Classic Head Quarter Eagle varieties, representing only the third known example. A recent phone call from John McCloskey, who is currently preparing a manuscript on the Classic Head Quarter Eagles, confirms our analysis."

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