This is a beautiful, lustrous example of a condition rarity from the branch mint in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both sides are satiny with pronounced semi-reflective characteristics evident. Delightful olive-gold and deep orange toning adds to the strong eye appeal. Sharply struck in virtually all areas, notable for a Charlotte Mint gold coin. This exceptionally attractive and well preserved example ranks among the finest 1848-C quarter eagles available to todays collectors.Produced to the extent of 16,788 pieces, the 1848-C is scarce in all grades and is among the more underrated Southern gold rarities in Mint State. Writing in the 2008 edition of the classic reference Gold Coins of the Charlotte Mint: 1838-1861, Douglas Winter accounts for only 200 to 250 survivors in all grades, the vast majority of which are VF or EF. There are likely no more than 10 to 12 Mint State coins known if we assume the usual percentage of resubmissions included in the population data published by PCGS and NGC. Such a paltry estimate confirms the 1848-C as one of the rarest Charlotte Mint quarter eagles in high grades, ranking ahead of such other issues as the 1849-C, 1850-C, 1854-C and 1860-C, all of which have significantly lower mintages. The offered coin is tied for finest certified and represents an important bidding opportunity for Southern gold specialists and other advanced collectors. <span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;line-height:9px;">▲</span>
