1853 $2.50 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle, 18/18 variety FS-301 NGC AU55 - Rare Variety!

Rare Variety for the Specialist!

There is doubling of the ‘18’ in the date ‘1853’ upon this reasonably priced coin. The numbers were repunched, resulting in this desirable, and quite rare variety. In addition to being attributed as FS-301, it is also Breen B-6222. NGC has graded one example of the 18/18 1853 $2.50 as AU55 with 1 finer. In total, NGC has graded only 3 of the FS-301, while PCGS has graded only four of them.

Closeup photo of rare 1853 18/18 FS-301 variety. Photo: NGC.

The long-lasting durability of the Coronet design on the quarter eagle was unmatched in U.S. numismatic history until it was passed by the Roosevelt dime. This makes the Liberty quarter eagle the second longest uninterrupted use of a coin motif without a major design alteration.  When this issue was first struck in 1840, much of the United States was a rough and ready frontier, with millions of bison roaming the Great Plains.

When the final Coronet quarter eagles were minted in 1907, an amazing 67 years later, America was a very different nation than it had been in 1840. The rugged individualism that characterized 19th century America's national spirit remained, but it became a more mature nation, one that made its powerful economic and military presence known around the world.