B-2. Short arrows, not ending near border. (1) Eliasberg. — Walter Breen, 1976The D. Brent Pogue coin is a beautifully toned example that sits atop the Condition Census for this variety. Bright blue peripheries yield momentarily to magenta before reaching the highly lustrous fields. The central obverse is nearly brilliant with a tinge of gold and highly prooflike; the reverse is more golden toned and satiny in finish. Some fingerprint toning appears a bit cloudy in the left obverse field. A glass reveals some minor hairlines and evidence of handling, nothing that seriously affects the magnificent aesthetic appeal the rich toning and luster provide. A thin untoned area right of the date may appear to be a scratch but was just left untoned by a thread or something similar laying on the coins surface. Sharply struck on both sides. A thin die crack connects the curl to the inner points of star 13 and star 12, revealing that Browning-2 was struck before Browning-1.The obverse of this piece is so reflective that Walter Breen counted it as a Proof in his Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins, written in 1976 and revised in 1989. This was discussed in the 1997 Eliasberg catalog, which noted if this is a Proof, it would qualify as one of only four such coins for this coinage date. If this coin is deemed a business strike, it may qualify as the finest known circulation strike of the variety and possibly the finest known for the date. Today, after a good deal of study and more refined definitions of what constitutes a Proof of this era and what does not, there are no 1832 quarters that have received current recognition as Proof coins. This piece may well be the closest thing there is to a Proof of this date. Beyond that, it is recognized as the single finest known example, a magnificent specimen with one of the most important provenance chains in modern American numismatics: Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. to the D. Brent Pogue Collection.
