1862 $2.50 (1862 Quarter Eagle) NGC MS61. Civil War Quarter Eagle. This mint state, Civil War dated 1862 Quarter Eagle coin has a bold strike, especially in the centers which are often weakly struck. Every detail of the design is seen clearly. The coin also exhibits outstanding mint luster within its devices. Of course, not a trace of wear is seen on the coin on either side, in keeping with the grade.

Christian Gobrecht, the Mint Engraver, 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 of the coin are dentils on both sides.

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. This design was continued without interruption from 1840 to 1907, the longest period of time in any coinage series without a substantial modification.

Christian Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at Mint in Philadelphia. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father, a German immigrant was a reverend. His mother, Elizabeth Sands was a descendent of the early settlers of Plymouth Colony. In 1818 Gobrecht married Mary Hewes. After an apprenticeship, he became an engraver of clockworks in Baltimore. Later, in Philadelphia, he joined a banknote engraving firm where he had an excellent job. He invented a machine that enabled one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration.

Understandably, Gobrecht was reluctant to join the Mint staff. In order to persuade him to leave the engraving firm, Mint Director Patterson convinced Chief Engraver William Kneass, incapacitated by a stroke, to give up a significant part of his salary so more money would be available to hire the new employee. Gobrechts first work for the United States Mint was in 1826 when he made dies as an assistant to Kneass. When Kneass was unable to continue working because of the stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work. He was Chief Engraver from 1840 until his death in 1844. Famous for his Liberty Seated dollar obverse, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage, he was responsible for also designing the Liberty Head motif that was first used on the gold eagle, and then on the half cent, the cent, and the gold quarter and half eagles.

The 1862 quarter eagle had an original mintage of 98,508, the second highest Civil War mintage for the denomination. However, many of these coins were not saved, especially in mint state. In its population report, NGC has certified 225 coins in all grades. In MS61 there are 35 with 20 better.