In 1861, Clark Gruber had new dies engraved for all four gold denominations, and changed the composition of the metal as well. Their coins had always contained approximately one-half of one percent extra gold to ensure the ready acceptance in commercial transactions. However, prior to the die changes, their coins had been struck on planchets composed of almost pure gold, and while this made them easier to strike, they were prone to rapid wear as well. Thus, new planchets incorporated more alloy to make them harder, and this subsequently led to difficulty in striking the coins with full details. Thus, the strike quality of the quarter-eagle offered here provides typically weak definition on each side. An accompanying ANACA photo-certificate confirms authenticity and provides a grade of VF-35.

This lot may contain an item not certified by ANACS, PCGS, or NGC. While Scotsman Auction Co. is typically conservative in our descriptions of items not certified by one of these companies, we cannot guarantee our grading estimation will match their grade. We highly recommend that collectors seeking items certified by a third-party grading service only bid on items that have already been certified. No lot can be returned because of a variance in judgment with regards to grade.