1862-S $2.50 XF45 Certification #42682837, PCGS #7798

Charles Morgan

The 1862-S Liberty Head Quarter Eagle

Infrequently encountered in Mint State, the 1862-S Liberty Head Quarter Eagle (#7798) remains as underrated today as it was when David W. Akers wrote about the series in 1975. As of September 2026, PCGS counts seven Mint State grading submissions, with six of these confirmed as distinct, traceable specimens.

The Civil War's impact on the circulation of United States coinage is well documented. Southern secession severed the production capabilities of the branch mints in Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans. Simultaneously, both the Federal and Confederate governments issued massive debt to fund the war, largely through the compulsory circulation of paper currency. Northern merchants in the Midwest and East hoarded whatever silver and gold bullion they could retain. Meanwhile, Southern commerce operated under a complex, multi-tiered monetary system: federal and foreign gold and silver traded at a steep premium, while Confederate Treasury notes circulated at a discount. As the tide of war turned against the Confederacy, this discount grew progressively steeper. Adding further volatility was the proliferation of spurious notes, particularly Union-produced counterfeits. which were introduced into the South as economic warfare.

On the West Coast, economic life operated at a remove. Gold production provided crucial financial strength to the Union cause, yet the impact of heavy local circulation is evident today in the extreme scarcity of Mint State survivors. Indeed, the vast majority of San Francisco Mint coinage from this era survives only in well-worn condition.

San Francisco gold production in 1862 was restricted to four denominations: $2.50, $5, $10, and $20. Of these, only the 1862-S Liberty Head Double Eagle (PCGS #8938) saw substantial mintage. In Mint State, the $5 Half Eagle (#8293) and $10 Eagle (#8936) represent monumental rarities, whereas the $2.50 Quarter Eagle is extraordinarily rare, though slightly less elusive by comparison.

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