1926 Sesquicentennial Gold $2½

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Next year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States, and various coins will be issued to celebrate this semiquincentennial (from Latin roots, meaning half of 500 years). Another mouthful of a word is sesquicentennial (Latin again, meaning 150 years). A century ago, the U.S. Mint issued two 1926-dated commemorative coins to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the United States: a silver half dollar and a gold quarter eagle ($2½).

The gold coin shows a Liberty figure perched on a globe, holding a torch representing freedom in one hand and a scroll symbolizing the Declaration of Independence in the other. The reverse shows Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration was signed in 1776. Coins in the median grade can sell for a few hundred dollars over melt, while coins near the top of the grading scale can sell for a few thousand dollars.

Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) recently evaluated a purported example of this coin and found several red flags. Overall, it has a porous look, with inconsistencies in the design, such as Liberty’s apparent scowl and a lack of detail in the frill of her garment’s neckline.

On the reverse, notice that the shape of the building’s windows doesn’t precisely match that on a genuine coin. This is likely because the coin’s shallow relief forced the counterfeiter to touch up certain details on the fake dies.

While it has no collector value, the counterfeit itself is struck in gold, with a similar weight and fineness to genuine pieces—a cautionary tale to obtain a metallurgical analysis in a case like this, especially given the historically high price of gold today. It is possible this fake was struck to circumvent the 1933 ban on private ownership of gold, which included an exception for coins with collector value. This patriotic coin can make a strong case that it has collector value: It marked the end of classic gold commemoratives, and with fewer than 46,000 sold, its mintage is lower than nearly every issue in the Augustus Saint-Gaudens double eagle (gold $20) series.

Interest in series like this is likely to skyrocket this year, and no one wants to unwittingly acquire a counterfeit. Remember that NGC backs its determinations of authenticity and grade with the NGC Guarantee.

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A version of this article appears in the January 2026 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).