1834 Classic Head Quarter Eagle. McCloskey-3. Large Head. MS-64 (PCGS). CAC.This is an outstanding near-Gem with vivid golden yellow patina and an intense satin to semi-reflective complexion. The strike is sharp over all but a few isolated high points, and subtle reddish-orange peripheral toning adds further appeal. Struck according to the precepts of the Act of June 28, 1834, this is a superior quality survivor of the first "new tenor" gold coinage. By diminishing the weight standard for the new quarter eagle to "fifty-eight grains pure gold, and sixty-four and a half grains of standard (i.e. alloyed) gold," the quarter eagles intrinsic value in gold was, at last, the same as the value of two and a half dollars in American silver coins. It had been decades since gold and silver coins could circulate on equal footing, an imbalance that forced gold coins into a non-circulating role while American commerce was conducted with paper money, U.S. silver coins, and mostly worn-out foreign silver coins.The mintage of the 1834 Classic Head quarter eagle is 27 times greater than the mintage of 1833 old tenor quarter eagles, but rather than being exported or serving as bullion deposits in banks, the new coins actually circulated. Newspapers across the country excitedly reported seeing the new coins for the first time, publishing updates on mintage figures and hopeful editorials on what the "Gold Coinage Act" would mean for the American economy. Referred to by some as "Jackson Gold," the new tenor coins started appearing beyond Philadelphia in the late summer of 1834. Throughout autumn, more than $200,000 worth of gold coins were struck per week, consisting entirely of quarter eagles and half eagles, while the citizenry worried that too much of it was going to the banks and not enough into the pockets of common folk. Of course, the Mint delivered coined gold to those who deposited gold for coining, and most depositors were banks. Much of the gold deposited by the banks was pre-1834 products of the United States Mint, for which the Mint paid a premium, guaranteeing the rarity of those coins for modern collectors. "Old coinage, now in existence, will pass thus....the quarter eagle, $2.66 3/4, this being the true value of the pure gold," reported <em>The Knickerbocker: Or, New York Monthly Magazine</em> as new tenor gold coins started to appear in New York in August 1834.McCloskey-3 is a scarce die variety of this issue that is seldom offered at auction.
