During the Civil War, the differences between the eastern states, where the war raged and the west were large. In the east, soon after the Civil War commenced, all federal coinage had stopped circulating. Money was replaced by fractional currency and tokens of mostly one-cent size. New currency, called greenbacks fulfilled the role of large denominations. Overall, with the very expensive war going on, money was scarce in commerce.

The west was the complete opposite situation. Generally, during the past few decades the people in the territories never trusted the paper money that circulated, and demanded so-called hard money, coins. This situation was still the same during the Civil War, which occurred thousands of miles away. As a result, newly struck gold coins made in San Francisco circulated freely, and many issues are scarce to rare in AU and MS.

The present offering represents an uncirculated, prooflike example of this rare quarter eagle. Certified by NGC, the coin shows full prooflike surfaces on both sides. The strike is razor-sharp, adding to the eye-appeal of this coin. Completely original, with the coloration being a darker-green gold that is often found on original coins of this era. A great coin which will surely rise in value in the future when more people notice the rarity of these issues in uncirculated condition.