1840-C Liberty Head Quarter Eagle. MS-60 (NGC). Rare Mint State preservation for this historic Charlotte Mint quarter eagle issue. Both sides exhibit dominant straw-gold patina with blushes of pale rose here and there around the peripheries. This is not a well produced issue, many coins struck on poorly prepared planchets, as here. The obverse, in particular, is noticeably granular in texture (as made), which feature resulted in softer detail being imparted by the die. The reverse is smoother overall with bolder striking detail. The year 1840 marked the introduction of Christian Gobrechts Liberty Head design type to the quarter eagle series, ensuring that examples struck at each of the four operating mints that year would eventually see strong demand from collectors. The Charlotte Mint, opened just two years prior in 1838, struck 12,822 quarter eagles in 1840, rivaling the 18,859 examples struck by the central mint in Philadelphia that year. The 1840-C issue saw extensive regional circulation and very few examples remain for collectors today. Of an extant population of perhaps 250 pieces total, is it likely that fewer than 20 <em>different</em> coins survive in Mint State, stressing the significance and immense desirability of the present offering.
