Low Mintage, High Price

On January 14, an 1854-S quarter eagle (gold $2½) realized $561,200 in Heritage Auctions’ Signature FUN Platinum Night sale, an all-time record for one of the rarest—and arguably most underrated—U.S. gold coins. The San Francisco Mint struck a mere 246 quarter eagles during its first year of operations. The 1854-S quarter eagle has the third-lowest mintage of any regular-issue U.S. gold coin after the 1875 Philadelphia half eagles (gold $5) and eagles (gold $10), which boast mintages of 200 and 100, respectively.

Gold in California

Gold was discovered in California in 1848, but the federal government was slow to establish a branch mint at San Francisco, forcing Californians to rely on private and state assayers to issue gold coins and ingots. Although these products circulated locally as money, their unofficial status meant that their value was negotiable. At times, these pieces traded at discounts of up to 20 percent. In 1851 the United States established an assay office in San Francisco, but did not give its coins and ingots legal-tender status, putting the citizens of California at the mercy of merchants and bankers.

Work on the San Francisco Mint began in 1853, and although it was rumored that the mint would begin operations by early February, its doors did not open until April 3, 1854. The first deposits of gold were made the following day, and on April 6, the San Joaquin Republican reported that “Adams & Company gained the day and will have the first money coined by the California Mint. Quite a heavy deposit of material was made during the day, and we may look very soon for an abundance of eagles and half-eagles in circulation, of home manufacture.” 

Striking Gold Coins

The Sacramento Daily Union reported that the new mint struck its first coin on Saturday, April 15. Presumably, this is the proof 1854-S double eagle (gold $20) that is now at the Smithsonian Institution. The Union went on to report that production of eagles and half eagles would begin on Tuesday, April 18. The following Saturday, the Empire County Argus confirmed this, reporting that on “Tuesday, the dies for eagles, half and quarter eagles were put into use.”

By the end of April, the mint announced that it was primarily concerned with striking larger denomination coins, and on May 15, the Sacramento Daily Union reported that during April, the mint had received 65,706.8 ounces of raw gold, which had been converted into roughly $1.14 million in coins and ingots. The total mintages listed for April 1854 are as follows: 703 gold dollars, 246 quarter eagles, 268 half eagles, 260 eagles, and 2,855 double eagles. The San Francisco Mint would not strike another quarter eagle until 1856.

The Rediscovery of the Quarter Eagle

The existence of the 1854-S quarter eagle was soon forgotten, most likely due to a lack of interest in the 19th century in collecting gold coins by mintmark. The first example was discovered in 1910, and it was authenticated by B. Max Mehl, who sold it to collector H.O. Granberg for an astounding $500. It would be over a decade before a specimen appeared at public auction as a part of Thomas Elder’s sale of the Collection of Lewis C. Gehring. Elder described it as “Only 3 known. Abt. Fine.” Over the next century, numismatists managed to identify another 9 examples, bringing the roster of known pieces to 13; however, last year, the list expanded to include a 14th piece when Stack’s Bowers Galleries announced the discovery of a Very Good Details example in James A. Stack Sr.’s holdings. That piece sold in early February for $114,000.