Unknown in Mint State. — Walter Breen, 1992The rarest of the four varieties known of this date, represented by the single finest surviving example, the only specimen known in Mint State, and of gem quality no less. Frosty silver gray with warm golden highlights around the peripheries, encompassing a blend of olive and gold on the reverse. Thoroughly, profoundly lustrous on both sides, satiny at centers and cartwheeling near the rims. The obverse is epically cracked, bisected on a jogging diagonal from the rim through the two northeastern points of star 7, through the eye and just above the center dot, arcing to the rim through the two lower points of star 12. The aesthetic appeal and originality are definitively extraordinary, a lesson on the subject for those who view this coin in hand. A glass will find the merest evidence of handling on Libertys profile, including a small nick on her chin, and a single short scratch under the wing left of the eagle. Despite the cracked die and the problems it would present to the coiner, the strike is superb, showing full star centers and bold central devices. The denticles are almost all rounded and fully realized but for a small batch atop the reverse. A delicate crack connects the outer points of stars 1 through 6. Another even finer crack bisects U of UNITED as it transits from the rim to the wing. Through all of the great collections that have ever been built, all of the monumental cabinets of high grade early American coins, none have ever had a better specimen than this one. In fact, over the course of the last century, only the Eliasberg Collection and the D. Brent Pogue Collection have ever included a Mint State example, as this is the only one there is. There are four die marriages of this date, split evenly into two Large 9 and two Small 9 varieties. The Large 9 is more elusive than the Small 9, and between the two Large 9 varieties, Browning-1 and Browning-2, this is the rarer one. There is not another survivor better than About Uncirculated, and most arent even that nice. In his 1992 revision to the Browning book, Walter Breen stated that this variety was unknown in Mint State, a correct statement before the Eliasberg Collection was extensively studied, then offered for sale. One can imagine that the rarity of this variety has to do with the short life of the obverse die, which couldnt have survived much beyond the substantial die crack seen on this specimen.The only auction conducted by the somewhat obscure St. Louis Coin and Stamp Company (active 1902-1915) that is relatively well known is their April 1906 sale, which included George W. Rices fine collection of large cents. Rice was a prolific contributor to The Numismatist in his time, specializing in describing various series by die varieties. This extraordinary quarter came from the St. Louis Coin and Stamp Companys next sale, held just six weeks later.
