1849 Quarter Eagle - 1849 $2.50 NGC AU58.  This near-Mint State, colorful 1849 Quarter Eagle has bright yellow-gold on its obverse and a mixture of yellow and rose-gold on its reverse. Original mint luster is found in protected areas of both sides. The coin has an above average strike with full details on the centers of the stars and the eagles neck. Just a trace of wear is found on the highest points. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no notable abrasion marks.

Christian Gobrecht designed the quarter eagle. It was produced without substantial modification from 1840 to 1907, the longest span in any United States coinage series. It uses the Coronet design which shows Liberty in profile 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 the word LIBERTY inscribed on the coronet. She is surrounded by thirteen stars, and the date is below the truncation. Dentils are around the periphery of both sides. The reverse shows a 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.

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 relatively large number of AU58 graded pieces for the 1849 quarter eagle probably indicates many resubmissions in an attempt to achieve a scarce Mint State grade. In its population report, NGC shows 41 in AU58 with 20 better.