1856-D Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle


The Coronet Quarter Eagle was first issued in 1840, and was produced continuously without change until 1907.

One of the rarest dates in this lengthy run is the 1856-D Coronet Quarter Eagle. Only 874 pieces were coined, the smallest of any date from the Dahlonega Mint. Of the original mintage, fewer than 50 examples survive to this day.

All 1856-D Quarter Eagles are poorly struck. Most of them appear to be cleaned, even if they were not, making grading very difficult. Most examples have below average eye appeal.

In spite of mediocre aesthetics, not many coin collectors spurn the 1856-D. It has always attracted a crowd because it is the rarest coin ever to come out of the Dahlonega Mint, one of the most interesting chapters in US numismatics.





1856-D Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle

1856-D Quarter Eagle obv 1856-D Quarter Eagle rev
Coin Photos courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries


1856-D Quarter Eagle Price Trend Graph

1856-D Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle (F-12 Condition)

The 1856-D Coronet Quarter Eagle is widely acknowledged as one of the key date Coronet Quarter Eagles, but you'd have a hard time believing it by analyzing the graph above. The blue line depicts the percent value increase of the 1856-D (in F-12 condition) since the baseline year of 2000. The percent value increase has been very flat. One would not expect this of a rare, key date gold coin from the Dahlonega Mint. The red line is the percent value increase over the same time period of the Rare Coin Values Index, which tracks the combined percent change of a cross sectional group of 87 rare US coins, the purpose of which is to understand the strength and direction of the overall rare US coin market. The 1856-D Quarter Eagle is one of the 87 coins in the Index. All Index charts are updated monthly.


 

Members of the Rare Coin Values Index
Date Coin Type Grade Est. Retail Value May 2012
1793 Liberty Cap Left Half Cent G-4 4500
1802 2/0 Rev 1802 Draped Bust Half Cent G-4 1000
1793 Chain AMERI. Flowing Hair Large Cent G-4 12500
1794 Starred Rev Liberty Cap Large Cent G-4 17500
1799 Draped Bust Large Cent G-4 4500
1856 Flying Eagle Cent G-4 7000
1877 Indian Head Cent G-4 800
1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent G-4 750
1914-D Lincoln Cent G-4 225
1922-D (No D) Lincoln Cent G-4 700
1864 Small Motto Two Cent F-12 400
1865 Three Cent Silver PF-65 1500
1884 Three Cent Nickel F-12 650
1795 Flowing Hair Half Dime G-4 1200
1797 Draped Bust, Small Eagle Half Dime G-4 1400
1800 Draped Bust, Large Eagle Half Dime G-4 950
1865 Seated Liberty Half Dime G-4 325
1879 Shield Nickel VG-8 550
1885 Liberty Nickel VG-8 750
1913-S Type 2 Buffalo Nickel G-4 350
1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel G-4 1300
1937-D 3 Legs Buffalo Nickel G-4 625
1796 Draped Bust Dime G-4 3000
1822 Capped Bust Dime G-4 1500
1871-CC Seated Liberty Dime G-4 2000
1895-O Barber Dime G-4 375
1916-D Mercury Dime VG-8 1500
1942/1-D Mercury Dime VG-8 650
1875-CC Twenty Cent G-4 400
1796 Draped Bust, Small Eagle Quarter G-4 12500
1804 Draped Bust, Large Eagle Quarter G-4 4500
1823 Capped Bust Quarter G-4 40000
1870-CC Seated Liberty Quarter G-4 10000
1896-S Barber Quarter G-4 1000
1901-S Barber Quarter G-4 5000
1916 Standing Liberty Quarter G-4 2900
1918/7-S Standing Liberty Quarter G-4 1550
1923-S Standing Liberty Quarter G-4 300
1932-D Washington Quarter F-12 200
1794 Flowing Hair Half Dollar G-4 5000
1796 16 Stars Draped Bust Small Eagle Half Dollar G-4 35000
1815/12 Capped Bust Half Dollar G-4 1750
1836 Reed Edge Capped Bust Half Dollar G-4 1250
1870-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar G-4 900
1892-O Barber Half Dollar G-4 300
1921-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar VG-8 450
1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar VG-8 100
1953-S Franklin Half Dollar MS-65 FBL 25000
1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar G-4 60000
1796 Draped Bust Small Eagle Silver Dollar G-4 1500
1801 Draped Bust Large Eagle Silver Dollar G-4 1250
1836 Gobrecht Dollar, Name on Base, Circ. Issue XF-40 12500
1873-CC Seated Liberty Dollar G-4 7500
1879 Trade Dollar PF-65 12750
1889-CC Morgan Silver Dollar F-12 1000
1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar F-12 4250
1895 Morgan Silver Dollar F-12 (PF Only) 35000
1928 Peace Dollar F-12 375
1849-C Cl. Wreath Type One Gold Dollar VF-20 1100
1855-D Type Two Gold Dollar VF-20 6600
1861-D Type Three Gold Dollar VF-20 8500
1796 No Stars Capped Bust $ 2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 52500
1808 Capped Draped Bust $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 27500
1826 Capped Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 8450
1838-C Classic Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 1150
1848 CAL. Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 38500
1856-D Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 5000
1911-D Indian Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle XF-40 4250
1854-D Indian Head Three Dollar F-12 9250
1795 Capped Bust Small Eagle $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 20000
1800 Capped Bust Large Eagle $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 4000
1808 Capped Draped Bust $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 3250
1821 Capped Head $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 17500
1833 Large Date Capped Head $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 20000
1834 Cross 4 Classic Head $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 1950
1861-D Coronet $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 6500
1870-CC Coronet $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 6250
1909-O Indian Head $5.00 Half Eagle XF-40 6000
1795 9 Leaves Capped Bust Small Eagle $10 Eagle F-12 47500
1804 Capped Bust Large Eagle $10 Eagle F-12 22500
1841-O Coronet $10 Eagle F-12 4000
1879-CC Coronet $10 Eagle F-12 9400
1911-D Indian Head $10 Eagle XF-40 1450
1930-S Indian Head $10 Eagle XF-40 12500
1859-O Coronet $20 Double Eagle VF-20 9500
1907 Wire Rim St-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle XF-40 11000
1921 St-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle XF-40 47500


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