1840-O Quarter Eagle - Unlike many other issues the highest quarter eagle mintage in 1840 was archived at the New Orleans mint. With a total output of 33,580 pieces it was, in fact, only minimally smaller than all three other mints combined.

This, however, does not always mean that it is also the most available issue of the year and in fact, the total number of survivors is only a slightly over 100. This makes it a very difficult issue to locate, especially so in uncirculated condition, in which only ten to a dozen or known. Most uncirculated pieces are heavily impaired by bag marks, and do not grade higher than MS-62. In that grade it is a prime rarity which one is unlikely to encounter more than a few times in any given decade.

The city of New Orleans, by far, had the largest population of the three cities where branch mints were established in 1835. This, obviously, also meant that it had the largest economy, and virtually all coins that were minted there prior to the Civil War ended up in circulation.

Some were shipped north (especially the larger denominations) and were either lost or melted in subsequent years. These reasons account for the rarity of the 1840-O quarter eagle as well, regardless of condition, but especially so in any mint state grade. When it is offered, regardless of grade, the typical 1840-O quarter eagle tends to be softly struck in the centers, with less than average eye-appeal. As this is typical of all coins produced at the New Orleans Mint this has to be considered when buying an 1840-O quarter eagle as well.