Minting qualities were gradually improving while the 19th century was settling in, and overall quality of life became better. Coins were now struck in close collars, resulting in uniform diameters and better looking coins. Unfortunately, as mentioned above not many quarter eagles of this type survive to tell that story. Many were exported to foreign countries were they were melted heavily. The pieces that remained within the continental United States circulated among banks, and when damaged were subsequently melted as well. The few pieces that survived in as fine quality as this piece did so by pure chance.

Besides heavy circulation and melting, the mintages were already small to begin with. Gold depositors preferred the larger denominations, which were more convenient to handle and in the end resulted in larger profits. As a result, mintages of half eagles were much higher in this period, being the largest denomination being coined by the United States Mint at the time. While heavy attrition took its toll at that denomination as well, more pieces have survived and half eagle types are easier to acquire then any of the early quarter eagles.

The present piece is a wonderful mint state piece, booming with luster on both sides. It is completely original and rare as such, with most pieces being cleaned, dipped, damaged or a combination of it all. The fields on this coin are particularly clean, lacking the bagmarks often found on these soft gold coins. With the increasing demand of these coins for inclusion in type sets and investor portfolios the supply is every increasing and prices will soon be much higher than the current levels. Currently, this would be an excellent coin for investment, with high eye appeal.