1856-C Quarter Eagle - 1856-C $2.50 NGC MS61. Here is a rare, crisp, Mint State, Southern branch mint 1856-C Quarter Eagle that has good color and original mint luster within its devices. The surfaces are a mixture of yellow and greenish gold, which is typical for this mint. Also typical for this date and mint in particular is the poor quality of the strike. It is one of the worst of the series with mushy details on both sides especially at the centers. The surfaces also show the usual granularity, especially so on the obverse. The date is undersized because the wrong punch was used. Yet, despite all of the negatives, for the issue, this is a very pleasing and elusive coin.
 
Christian Gobrecht designed the Liberty Head quarter eagle. It was minted from 1840 to 1907, the longest span of any coinage series without any major design modification. In that period of time 11,921,171 Liberty Head quarter eagles were minted.
Gobrecht used the coronet motif for his 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 mintmark is on the reverse between the eagle and the denomination.
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 gold coins are scarce. Much of it is rare, and some is extremely rare because of a combination of low mintages and melting overseas. Many coins that were minted before the Civil War were used to purchase armaments abroad. Much of this coinage was melted in Europe to make coins of the realm. Only a tiny fraction of the C mint coinage survives today. In its population report, NGC shows 5 1856-C quarter eagles in MS61 condition with 2 better. At PCGS there are 2 in MS61 with 2 better. These numbers do not account for crossovers or resubmissions.