1854-C Quarter Eagle - 1854-C $2.50 NGC XF40. This low mintage, Southern branch mint 1854-C Quarter Eagle shows the softly struck centers that are typical for this date and mint especially on the reverse. However, the obverse has an above average strike with full details on the centers of the stars and most of Libertys hair. The reverse legends and the dentils on both sides are also strong and full. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no individual abrasion marks or other distractions that require description. Sufficient separation exits between the strands of Libertys hair and the coronet as well as the feathers at the wing tips to confirm the grade. 

In the 1790s gold was accidentally discovered in North Carolina. The first United States Gold Rush took place in the early 1800s in North Carolina and Georgia. In the area around Charlotte, North Carolina almost 100 gold mines were in operation. Second only to farming, prospecting for gold became the main source of employment in North Carolina. The most gold produced in the United States came from North Carolina until 1848, when it was discovered in California.

The gold that was produced at Charlotte had to be refined and standardized so it would have commercial value. Private mints like the Bechtlers and Templeton Reids opened to assay the new gold and convert it to coinage. In order to standardize this coinage and because transportation to Philadelphia was so poor as a result of bandits, unfriendly Indians, and poor roads, a branch mint in Charlotte was opened in 1836.

Two years later the first half eagle was struck. Quarter eagles were minted later in 1838 and gold dollars in 1849. However, no coins were made in 1845 because there was a fire, and the entire structure burned to the ground. Its last coinage was in 1861, twenty-four years after it opened. During the Civil War, the Charlotte Mint continued coining gold; however, in October of 1861 the building was converted to a Confederate army hospital and headquarters. During Reconstruction, the building was used for offices by federal troops. In 1867 the Mint became an assay office, which remained in operation until 1913. During World War I it was used by the Charlottes Womans Club and as a Red Cross station. In 1936 the site was relocated south of downtown and became the Mint Museum of Art, which was the first art museum in North Carolina.

All Charlotte Mint coins have the C mintmark on the reverse except for the first two years quarter and half eagles, which had them on the obverse between the truncation and the date.

The 1854-C Quarter Eagle is scarce and popular in all grade levels. In its population report, NGC has certified 2 1854-C quarter eagles in XF40 condition.