1846-D/D $2.50 (1846-D/D Quarter Eagle) NGC AU55. This Southern branch mint quarter eagle is the rare D over D variety which is rarer than the regular branch mint issue. The coin has subdued mint luster remaining within the devices. The grade is confirmed by sufficient separation between the lines of Libertys coronet and hair and the hair over the eye. The strike is full on the obverse and reverse peripheries and strong on central portions of the reverse, especially the shield.

The D over D mintmark is seen far to the left of the final position. Its base line is a horizontal line above the 1 in the numerator of the fraction. Harry Bass Jr. is credited with the discovery of this rare variety.

Christian Gobrecht used the coronet motif for his Liberty Head quarter eagle design. It shows a profile of Liberty facing left. Her hair is tied in the back with beads as two curls flow down her neck. On the coronet the word LIBERTY is inscribed. She is surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars and the date, which is below the truncation. At the periphery are dentils on both sides of the coin. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with wings outstretched looking to the left. In its talons it holds the olive branch and arrows, symbols of peace and preparedness. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc around the eagle, interrupted by the wing tips. The denomination written as 2 D. is below, separated from the inscription by dots.

The Liberty Head quarter eagle was minted from 1840 to 1907, the longest span of any coinage series without major modification. In that period of time 11,921,171 pieces were minted.

Christian 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. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis. In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass 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 sliver coinage including the half dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and sliver 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 VP-001 variety, 1846-D/D quarter eagle is rare in all grades. In its population report, NGC shows the present coin listed as the finest with none better. At PCGS there are 5 in AU55 with 3 better. These numbers do not account for crossovers and resubmissions.