1836 $2.50 Classic Head Quarter Eagle, Block 8 PCGS MS63

Here's a classic piece of American history that could serve as the centerpiece of a proud numismatist's collection.  This coin would also be a great type coin with its attractive yellow-golden coloration and excellent state of preservation. PCGS has graded 16 as MS63 with just 14 finer.

Classic Head $2.50 1836 Block 8 date comparison. Photo courtesy of PCGS Coinfacts website.

Ron Guth writes in PCGS Coinfacts, "In 1834, Mint officials changed the design on the Quarter Eagles to comply with the new Coinage Act of June 28, 1834, which law reduced the weight of the Quarter Eagles to prevent melting. On the obverse, Liberty no longer wore a cap; rather the design was a copy of that seen on Classic Head Half Cents of 1809-1836 and Large Cents of 1808-1814."

Before the production of the $2.50 Classic Head quarter eagle in 1834, it was foreign silver, underweight foreign gold, and fractional banknotes that served as currency in day-to-day U.S. business transactions. Contemporary U.S. gold coins--with a bullion value in international markets that surpassed their face value in silver--were constantly the object of melting during the pre-1834 period. The Mint Act of 1834 dramatically changed that practice, producing gold coins that were reduced in weight so that they would circulate--which had not happened since 1795.