1848 25C PR(PCGS#5542)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

3042

等级

PR65

价格

167,576

详细说明

A fantastic early Proof Liberty Seated quarter rarity. This is a deeply and vividly toned Gem with iridescent cobalt blue, pale pink and antique gold undertones backlighting dominant charcoal-blue patina. There are a few blushes of warmer rose-gray iridescence scattered about, most notably in a swath through the central obverse. Close inspection with a loupe is required to discern a few faint hairlines in the expansive obverse and reverse field areas, and these are of no consequence given the coin's overall smooth appearance during in-hand viewing. More significant, but then again only really for provenance purposes, is an area of light, ancient tooling on the lower reverse rim, below the letter R in QUAR., that appears to be an effort to efface a shallow planchet void in that area. Razor sharp in striking detail, as befits the method of manufacture, with expectably strong eye appeal for the assigned grade.<p>As with all pre-1859 issues in the Proof Liberty Seated quarter series, the total number of specimens produced for the 1848 was not recorded by the Mint and has long been lost to history. Numismatic scholars, therefore, are left with the number of coins extant as a basis for estimating the mintage. <em>PCGS CoinFacts</em> estimates that six to eight specimens are known from an estimated mintage of 10 pieces, totals that square nicely with Larry Briggs' assertion that eight to 10 coins were struck put forth in his 1991 reference <em>The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of United States Liberty Seated Quarters</em>. Opinions differ, however, with Q. David Bowers providing a more conservative estimated mintage of five to eight coins in his 2016 <em>Guide Book of Liberty Seated Silver Coins</em>.<p>Regardless of exactly how many coins were produced, the mintage for this issue was clearly on a very limited scale. This is commensurate with the United States Mint's policy regarding Proof coinage during the 1840s. Mintages during that decade were achieved on as needed basis, and generally only for official purposes or at the request of a select few numismatists active in the Northeast. It is important to remember in this regard that numismatics as a hobby did not begin to gain widespread appeal in the United States until the late 1850s, at which time the Mint made its first concerted effort to market yearly Proof coinage to collectors. This marketing effort coincided with the Mint's first recording of Proof mintages for gold and silver coins in 1859.<p>Given the manner in which they were produced and distributed, it is likely that most Proof Liberty Seated quarters from the 1840s have survived. Since few were struck in the first place, as above, issues such as the Proof 1848 are clearly very rare even if 90 to 95% of the mintages are extant. Our research indicates that only seven Proof 1848 quarters can be positively traced today, only five of which are in private hands; the other two are permanently impounded in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and American Numismatic Society. This is our first offering for the issue since 2016, when we brought the PCGS/CAC Proof-65+ Cameo specimen to auction in our February Rarities Sale. With the few known examples appearing only infrequently on the open market, the fleeting nature of this offering cannot be overstated.