1854-D Quarter Eagle (1854-D $2.50) PCGS AU58 CAC. Mint luster shimmers from within the devices of this rare branch mint 1854-D Quarter Eagle. Very light wear on the high points and surface abrasions keep this CAC stickered AU from an uncirculated designation. In fact this coin is the only 1854-D that CAC has confirmed. The strike is strong on the obverse except at the upper dentils and the hair below LIB. The reverse is strong except for the leg feathers and claws. These strike weaknesses are typical for the date. Christian Gobrecht designed the Liberty Head Quarter Eagle. Because of the motif, it is called the Liberty Head Coronet as well. The design is similar to the Large Cents of 1837 to 1857, which were also designed by Gobrecht.

A profile of Liberty wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet faces left surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars. Her hair is tied in beads. Two curls drop down, one on the back and one on the side of her neck. Dentils are around the periphery on both sides of the coin. The reverse depicts a heraldic eagle with a Union shield on its breast. Its wings are up and stretched out as it faces left. In its talons are the symbols of peace and preparedness, the olive branch and arrows. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc around the eagle that is broken by the wing tips. The denomination written as 2 D and separated by dots is below.

The first United States Gold Rush began in North Carolina and Georgia in the early 1800s when gold was discovered on Indian land. Mining communities such as the one at Dahlonega, Georgia grew to accommodate the hoards of miners that descended on the region. The word Dahlonega means yellow money in the Cherokee language. Within a few years officials realized that the private minting companies and individuals were too inconsistent in their smelting and refining results, and a law was passed establishing branch mints in the South.

The Dahlonega Mint produced it first coinage on April 12, 1838, 80 half eagles. The first quarter eagle was made the next year in February.

The D mintmark on these gold coins stands for Dahlonega. It should not be confused with the Denver Mint of later and modern times. All Dahlonega gold is desirable and eagerly sought by collectors and investors because of its rarity.

With an original mintage of 1,760, the 1854-D quarter eagle is rare in all conditions. In its population report PCGS notes that only 75 to 100 coins are known. Only 6 others have been graded AU58 with 5 better.