LIBERTY HEAD QUARTER EAGLE, 1848 CAL., PCGS AU 53

A lovely example with rich reddish gold color. Some of the hair of Liberty and eagle’s feathers are a bit weak, but this is not uncommon. The fields exhibit some evidence of the original die polish, and there is ample prooflike flash around the stars and legends, as well as silhouetting the head of Liberty and the eagle. An exceptionally attractive example.

One of the most interesting of United States coin issues. Struck from two hundred and twenty-eight ounces of gold freshly mined from California in late 1848, it represents the Mint’s first use of the riches from the vast California gold fields. That discovery by John Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in January 1848 led to the great and transformative Gold Rush. In acknowledging the source of the gold, by stamping the letters CAL. above the eagle’s head, the Mint also created what is in the strictest of terms the United States’ first commemorative coin.

Certificate number: 6422627 (Generation 3 holder). PCGS has certified 3 of comparable grade, and thirty-six finer. (02-18)