1840 25C Liberty Seated Quarter Dollar, with Drapery NGC MS65

This coin is perfect for the discriminating numismatist who demands only the finest coins for his or her collection. This 1840 Seated Liberty quarter, with Drapery, is a legacy coin for you to enjoy for many years to come. You will beam with pride when this great rarity is among your prized collection of numismatic art.

Many collectors consider the Seated Liberty design to have been crafted solely by Christian Gobrecht. However, it was a collaboration of several hands and minds before it appeared on the quarter and other coins. It was U.S. Mint Director Robert B. Patterson, who, in 1835, was desirous of a new coin that was reminiscent of Britannia on British copper, or images of Liberty from the French Revolution. Artist Thomas Sully was tasked with crafting a rendering of Liberty based on a set of British coins and medals. Then Sully's work was given to the newly hired engraver, Christian Gobrecht, who created a series of drawings before producing a copper die for study and presentation in Washington, D.C. When the new quarters were produced, starting in 1839, they had an updated reverse that was a freshly engraved version of John Reich's 1807 eagle reverse design--sans the motto and ribbon. It was in 1839 that the sculptor Robert Ball Hughes lowered the relief, refined the proportions and dynamics of the Liberty, and added an eloquent fold of cloth from the right elbow. Thus the design as we know it today should be called the "Patterson-Sully-Gobrecht-Hughes" design.

Numismatic art critic and scholar Cornelius Vermeule discusses how the medallic adjustments by Hughes resulted in the design found on this rare and beautiful offering from AUCM. "...Hughes enlarged Liberty's head and her cap on the pole. He fattened the right arm reaching down to the shield...The twisted, dishmop effect of the long hair...was smoothed out, and a curl was added to bring the disjointed right shoulder closer to the head and neck. A larger, curved series of folds of drapery was introduced from the left elbow to the knee... the folds of the main garment... were smoothed out... Greater clarity emerged in the proportions of the body... These modifications also eliminated the distressing similarity to a shower curtain in the crinkly folds of vertical drapery derived from the original interpretation of Sully's sketch."