1840-O Seated Liberty Quarter with Drapery MS 65

Hailing from the New Orleans Mint, this 1840-O Seated Liberty is one of the most sought-after quarters by collectors of numismatics. Known as the "With Drapery" quarter, the 1840-O Seated Liberty had the lowest reported mintage of any other coins of its type until 1864. Making this example all the more extraordinary is its high-quality grade; achieving a 65 on the grading scale, it is tied for the finest example of its kind in terms of condition and overall eye appeal.

Designed by renowned banknote plate engraver and medalist Christian Gobrecht, the design was loosely based on a drawing by the British-American portraitist Thomas Sully. On the obverse, Gobrecht used a modified version of his Liberty, seated on a rock and surrounded by thirteen stars, while the reverse had the Reich-Kneass eagle from the previous issue with the denomination as "QUAR. DOL." instead of the earlier "25 C." Liberty was slightly reworked in 1840, the year of the present example, by Robert Ball Hughes, who added drapery at her elbow — hence the coin's moniker "With Drapery."