1890 Quarter Eagle - 1890 $2.50 PCGS PF63 CAM. This rare, low mintage 1890 Choice proof Cameo quarter eagle is the finest known at PCGS. The coin has outstanding contrast between its frosted devices and mirrored fields. Its surfaces are original and clean for the grade with virtually no visible hairlines or contact marks. The smudges on the reverse are on the holder not the coin. As expected the strike is hammered with full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. The dentils are full and sharp on this eye-appealing piece.

Christian Gobrechts quarter eagle was produced without substantial modification from 1840 to 1907, the longest span in any United States coinage series. It uses the coronet motif, which shows Liberty facing left, her hair tied tightly in beads, except for two curls one down the back of her neck and the other on the side below her ear, with LIBERTY inscribed on the coronet. She is surrounded by thirteen stars, and the date is below the truncation. The reverse shows the heraldic eagle facing left holding arrows and olive branch it its talons. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs around it, interrupted by the wing tips, and the denomination 2 D., is below. The denomination is separated from the legend with dots. The weight remained the same, but the diameter was reduced from the previous issue to 18 millimeters.

The coinage act of 1865 specified that motto IN GOD WE TRUST should be added to all coins large enough to accommodate it. The Mint interpreted this law to mean that the motto had to be added to silver coins larger than the dime and gold half eagles, eagles and double eagles. Because of its size, the quarter eagle was exempt.

Beginning in 1859 a modified reverse design was used on business strike and proof Philadelphia coins. It had smaller letters and arrowheads. Some pieces in 1859, 60, and 61 were struck with the old design after the change was made.

Gobrecht became the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to William Kneass. After Kneass suffered a debilitating stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

The 1890 proof quarter eagle had an original mintage of 93, making it fundamentally rare in all grades. Today only 50 to 60 pieces are known. In its population report, PCGS shows only one, the present coin, in PRCA63 with none finer.