On September 28, 2025, GreatCollections will sell the finest known circulation strike of the famed 1841 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle, also known as the “Little Princess.”
For decades, the enigmatic 1841 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle was known as a Proof Only issue, and a rare one at that, with fewer than twenty known examples. However, not all of the surviving coins presented the way one would expect for Proofs or Specimen Strikes of the period. To account for this, some experts believed that the lack of “Proofiness” was the result of mishandling and impairment. However, through observation and study, noted experts over the years began to see a different narrative emerge: one that held that some were Proofs and others were circulation strikes. Noted gold expert Doug Winter wrote in 2007, “Numismatic tradition states that around twenty 1841 Quarter Eagles were struck, all as Proofs. Numismatic tradition, in this case, is wrong.” In 2012, PCGS sided with those experts and announced that it would certify coins as either Proofs or circulation strikes, after each coin is carefully reviewed by their graders and noted experts.
For decades, the coin has been an enigma and a coveted rarity. Unfortunately for collectors and researchers, the United States Mint did not preserve any records of the striking of any 1841 $2.50 gold coin. What’s left are a small handful of coins so rare that auction appearances often take place years apart.
The coin offered by GreatCollections is graded PCGS MS61 and is the finest known in its category. The coin exhibits full details on Liberty’s portrait, full star radials, complete eagle feather and shield details, and crisp denticles. Crosshatched abrasions interrupt the field, which explains the grade.
The Liberty Head Quarter Eagle Series is Challenging to Complete, but Not All Coins Are As Rare as the 1841 “Little Princess.”
Assembling a complete set of Liberty Head Quarter Eagles would be a challenge to even the most advanced collectors; however, not every date is expensive. Early issues, such as the 1851, 1852-C, 1853, and 1873, are reasonably priced in grades up to MS63, while coins struck from 1897-1907 are priced under $1,000 in grades up to MS64.
The 1841 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle offered by GreatCollections is the famous Norweb coin. It has the finest example and one of two certified in Mint State by PCGS. The other Mint State coin, graded PCGS MS60 CMQ, sold at a Stack’s Bowers sale in March 2024 for $288,000.
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GreatCollections has offered high-quality examples of thousands of collector coins over the years, including many top population pieces. To search through GreatCollection’s archive of over 600,000 certified coins and notes that the company has sold, please visit the GreatCollections Auction Archives.
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The post Rare “Little Princess” 1841 Quarter Eagle, an Enigmatic Gold Coin, to be Auctioned appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
