1884 LIBERTY HEAD $2.5 PR65 Cameo

GEM CAMEO PROOF SURFACES. JUST 73 STRUCK. CAC. The Philadelphia Mint struck 73 proof Quarter Eagles of the Liberty type in 1884, and a decent percentage of the mintage seems to have been distributed among contemporary collectors. As with all proof U.S. gold coinage from the 19th and early 20th centuries, however, the 1884 Quarter Eagle is a very rare coin in an absolute sense. Writing in 2006, Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth ( Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933 ) estimate that only around half of the coins struck have survived to the present day. Most examples in numismatic circles possess pleasing cameo contrast between frosty devices and mirror-finish fields.