Lovely golden-rose centers radiate into indigo, emerald and crimson iridescence at the peripheries on both sides. The fields are glassy, smooth, and faintly prooflike. The devices are bold and lustrous. For identification there is a shallow planchet streak extending up from the eagles beak to the base of the A in STATES. The repunching of the letters is strong and a shadowy O overlaps the primary O to the left, and the top of the F extends from the O to the final F, just touching that letter. Two tiny dots left of the A(MERICA) are likely traces of that letter being repunched as well. It is interesting that this same reverse die was also used in 1833 and then carried forward to strike coins again in 1834. The O/F reverse die is listed in the Guide Book and many collectors desire an example along with the normal reverse 1834 quarter.This example is tied with two others as the finest seen of the 1834 B-1 O/F variety. These are listed in the Rea et al reference Early Quarter Dollars of the United States: 1796-1838 on page 261. Simply as an example of this date, the present coin is one of the finer examples known. The fact that it resided in the Eric P. Newman Collection for many years and has spectacular toning and frosted devices adds to the appeal. Additionally, it is the Browning plate coin from that all-important 1925 reference on early quarters. Many of the Browning plate coins were tucked away in the Newman Collection, leaving collectors to wonder for many decades what had happened to these fantastic pieces. The secret to their location was finally revealed in 2007 when numismatists Rory Rea and W. David Perkins were invited to view the coins held in the Newman Money Museum in St. Louis. After studying the photographs of the quarters in the Newman Collection, several were identified as Browning plate coins that came to the Newman Collection from the extensive collection of Colonel E. H. R. Green.
