PCGS MS61
PCGS AU55
- PCGS #:
- 7741
- Designer:
- Christian Gobrecht
- Edge:
- Reeded
- Diameter:
- 18.00 millimeters
- Weight:
- 4.18 grams
- Mintage:
- 4,808
- Mint:
- Charlotte
- Metal:
- 90% Gold, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $62,100 • MS64 • 10-01-1999 • Bowers & Merena
Major Varieties
- 1846-C $2.50
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 100 |
| 60 or Better | 6 |
| 65 or Better | |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-8.0 |
| 60 or Better | R-9.7 |
| 65 or Better | R-10.1 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 32 / 147 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 27 / 147 TIE |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 147 |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 32 / 147 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 27 / 147 TIE |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 147 |
Condition Census What Is This?
|
#1 PCGS MS64
“The David Wilson Collection,” S.H. Chapman, March 1907, Lot 200; John H. Clapp; Clapp Collection sold en bloc to Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., via Stack’s, 1942; “The Eliasberg Collection,” Bowers and Merena, October 1982, Lot 137; Stanley Elrod; Hugh Sconyers; “The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II,” Bowers and Merena, October 1999, Lot 381; As NGC MS63. Nevada Collection; unknown intermediaries; As PCGS MS64 #3545295. Heritage Auctions, August 10, 2001, Lot 7610 – $33,350; Heritage Auctions, April 19, 2012, Lot 5216 – $54,625; Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2013, Lot 5822 – $47,000. Series of thin diagonal scratches across Liberty’s face. Nearly complete star radials. Well-struck for a Charlotte Mint coin. |
|
#2 PCGS MS63
Winthrop Carner; Paul Dingler to Heritage Coin Galleries, March 1994; As PCGS MS63 #50098522. “The Grand Lake Collection,” Heritage Auctions, February 2009, Lot 2470 – $27,600. As PCGS MS63 #06652080. Heritage Auctions, January 2012, Lot 4750 – $34,500; Heritage Auctions, June 4, 2020, Lot 3157 – $40,800. "SMC Numismatics - Charlotte Gold" (PCGS Set Registry). Dingler on insert. Sharply struck. Full star radials. Heritage notes recent but inconspicuous scratch on cheek.
|
|
#3 PCGS MS62
New Netherlands, November 1956, Lot 243; “The R.T. Wilder Collection,” Stack’s, December 1994 – $14,850; Heritage Auctions, January 8, 1999, Lot 7756 – $32,200. As PCGS MS62 #10003872. Stack’s Bowers, August 2015, Lot 10202 – $21,150. |
| #3 PCGS MS62 |
|
#3 Est. MS62
As NGC MS62 #1293449-024. Heritage Auctions, February 23, 2001, Lot 6859 – $23,575; “The Ashland City Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2003, Lot 4675 – $14,950; “The Mississippi Collection,” September 19, 2008, Lot 3269 – $16,100; Heritage Auctions, February 6, 2009, Lot 2469 – $13,225; “The Bay State Collection, Part Two,” Heritage Auctions, July 31, 2009, Lot 1222 – $13,800; Heritage Auctions, April 25, 2014, Lot 6154 – $15,275. Diagonal tick marks in the right obverse field. Diagonal scratch from star 12. |
|
#3 Est. MS62
NGC MS62 #656910-002: “The Thomas Melish Sale,” Abe Kosoff, April 1956, Lot 1144- $52,50; “The John Jay Pittman Collection,” David Akers, May 1998, Lot 1734; Heritage Auctions, January 1999, Lot 7868 – $32,500; “The Richard Genaitis Collection,” Heritage Auctions, August 10, 2001, Lot 7598 – $17,250. |
| #3 Est. MS62 |
|
#8 PCGS MS61
Heritage Auctions, January 14, 2022, Lot 4670 - $32,400. Cut below star 4. Cut above eye. |
#8 PCGS MS61
|
A fire broke out in the western wing of Charlotte Mint on July 27, 1844. While a sufficient store of water was on hand to minimize the loss, the flames spread quickly and razed the building. Only a steam engine and a cutting press could be salvaged. Everything else, save the gold in the vaults, was a total loss. The cause of the fire remains a mystery. Reporting in the August 1, 1844 issue of the Charlotte Journal included speculation that the blaze may have been ignited by a discarded cigar, but supporting evidence for this theory never materialized.
Having only been in operation for six years at the time of the blaze, the question came before Congress whether to appropriate funds to rebuild or to shut it down. Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson lobbied for its reconstruction, writing in the 1845 Mint Director’s Report:
“The question of rebuilding this establishment has been brought before Congress, and plans and estimates have been presented, which show the moderate cost at which it could be again placed in full operation. I will therefore merely take the liberty, at this time, to call attention to the fact… that the region in which the Charlotte and Dahlonega branch mints are placed, contains gold mines as numerous and as rich as any in the world.”
Patterson went on to note that over the course of the two preceding years, that more than two million dollars worth of gold from the region was offered for coinage.
Reconstruction concluded by the fall of 1846, in time for the Charlotte Mint to produce Liberty Head Quarter Eagles and Liberty Head Half Eagles. The Philadelphia Mint supplied Charlotte with two sets of dies to strike $2.50 gold coins, but its mintage of 4,808 pieces only necessitated the deployment of one pair. In 1846, Charlotte also managed to strike 12,995 1846-C Liberty Head Half Eagles.
Charlotte Mint Gold Coin Production in 1846
- 1846-D Liberty Head Quarter Eagle (#7741) | Mintage: 4,808 | MS64 finest.
- 1846-D Liberty Head Half Eagle (#8228) | Mintage: 12,995 | Rare in Mint State, none finer than MS62.
1846-C Liberty Head Quarter Eagle Characteristics
The term "rustic" best describes the 1846-C Liberty Head Quarter Eagle. By the time the Mint resumed production, rust had already consumed the obverse and reverse dies, which had likely sat unattended for two years.
Rarity and Survival
Most 1846-C Liberty Head Quarter Eagles circulated, and surviving examples are typically heavily abraded or impaired.
Some examples on the market were recovered from shipwreck salvage. These tend to exhibit matte-like surfaces due to immersion in sea water.
According to Doug Winter, uncirculated-details coins with this appearance trade at Extra Fine prices.
The PCGS Condition Census features outstanding pieces like the Clapp-Eliasberg-Bass coin (PCGS MS64) and the Brownlee example (PCGS MS63).
Technical Characteristics and Striking Quality
The coin’s technical assessment is heavily influenced by the condition of the rusted dies.
Strike
The 1846-C is a better-struck issue than often realized, though the obverse is generally sharper than the reverse.
- The obverse typically lacks strong detail on the curls around the face.
- The tops of BERT in “LIBERTY” are frequently weak.
- The stars vary from sharp with radial lines to flat and blunt.
- The reverse is often weak in the center, with the eagle’s neck and right leg lacking feather detail.
- Denticles on both sides and the reverse border are typically bold.
- Typical examples exhibit multiple clash marks (e.g., from the beak to the wing).
Surfaces and Die Rust
The pervasive die rust creates defining surface features:
- The obverse almost always shows granularity near the date, to the left of Liberty’s bust truncation, from the fourth to the eighth stars, and the final star.
- Rust also appears on the reverse, notably below the eagle’s right wing, along the bottom of the fraction bar, under the N in UNITED, and under the IC in AMERICA.
Luster, Coloration, and Eye Appeal
- Luster: Uncirculated examples are few but often boast a frosty luster with slight reflectiveness in the fields. This characteristic is unfortunately muted on cleaned or dipped coins.
- Coloration: High-grade pieces exhibit green-gold or bright yellow-gold color, while lower-grade pieces tend toward coppery-orange or deep green-gold.
- Eye Appeal: The presence of die rust negatively impacts the overall eye appeal, even in high grades. The finest known piece (PCGS MS64) famously exhibits roller lines across the face—a planchet feature that does not affect the technical grade.
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