1887 Quarter Eagle - 1887 $2.50 NGC PF66 CAM. This outstanding proof 1887 Quarter Eagle is tied with one other for the finest known at both NGC and PCGS. It comes with the provenance of the famous Byron Reed Collection. This 1887 Quarter Eagle coin is a lustrous cameo that has been designated UCAM by NCG. An ultra cameo coin is an early strike piece that is characterized by devices that highly contrast with mirrored fields. Certainly that is the case with this piece, which displays yellow-gold devices over greenish gold fields. The surfaces of this 1887 Quarter Eagle are original and clean with no marks or hairlines visible without magnification. Lint marks from polishing dies, which are common for proof coins of the era are not found on this almost pristine piece. As expected at this level, every detail is full and sharp on both sides.

Christian Gobrecht designed the quarter eagle. It was produced without substantial modification from 1840 to 1907, the longest span in any United States coinage series. It uses the coronet motif, which shows Liberty facing left, her hair tied tightly in beads, except for two curls one down the back of her neck and the other on the side below her ear, with LIBERTY inscribed on the coronet. She is surrounded by thirteen stars, and the date is below the truncation. The reverse shows the heraldic eagle facing left holding arrows and olive branch it its talons. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs around it, interrupted by the wing tips, and the denomination 2 D., is below. The denomination is separated from the legend with dots. The weight remained the same, but the diameter was reduced from the previous issue to 18 millimeters.

The coinage act of 1865 specified that motto IN GOD WE TRUST should be added to all coins large enough to accommodate it. The Mint interpreted this law to mean that the motto had to be added to silver coins larger than the dime and gold half eagles, eagles and double eagles. Because of its size, the quarter eagle was exempt.

Beginning in 1859 a modified reverse design was used on business strike and proof Philadelphia coins. It had smaller letters and arrowheads. Some pieces in 1859, 60, and 61 were struck with the old design after the change was made.

Christian Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis.

In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

Byron Reed (1829 to 1891) was in the real estate business, and he became a local politician in Omaha, Nebraska. His real estate office was the first in the Nebraska Territory. He became the most important realtor when Nebraska became a state. Born in New York, Reed was first a telegraph operator in Warren, Ohio. He also was the Register of Deeds for the county. In 1855 he came to Omaha and began to purchase land. As he became wealthy, he also became active in politics. He worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and traveled extensively through the Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. In 1871 he was elected to the Omaha City Council and later served as its acting president.

Reed was a collector of rare books, manuscripts, autographs of famous people, and, of course, American coins. His collection has been described as one of the greatest of the 19th century. It included U.S. coinage, paper money, and sutlers tokens. His numismatic library was one of the largest in the Midwest. It remained intact and was donated to the city of Omaha when he died.

In 2001 numismatist William T. Gibbs estimated the Byron Reed Collection to be valued at $7,894,013. It included 1,163 coins from the United States and 693 from around the world. In 1996 the Omaha City Council sold portions of the collection at auction through Christies of New York City. The 562 lots brought over $6.1 million. The 1887 quarter eagle was one of those lots.

It is estimated that 40 to 50 1887 proof quarter eagles remain in existence from the original mintage of 122. Obviously all pieces of this issue are extremely rare.  The present specimen, which grades PF66 UCAM is one of the two finest known. The highest certified at PCGS are 4 in PR65 DC. (The UCAM and DC designations used by the two services have the same meaning.)