1879 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle
Base
About This Coin
The 1879 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle is a United States Gold Quarter Eagle from the Liberty Head Quarter Eagles 1840-1907 series — 40th of 68 years in the series. In 1879, coins were struck at the San Francisco and Philadelphia Mints with a combined mintage of 132,490. This ranks 47th of 68 years by total mintage, above the series median of 36,397. The obverse features Liberty facing left wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY and the reverse displays a heraldic eagle with shield on breast, olive branch and arrows in talons, with a banner reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. Resumption of specie payments made gold coins legal tender for all transactions again. Struck in 90% gold, 10% copper, weighing 4.18 grams, 18 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Struck two years before the 1881 key date, the lowest-mintage regular issue in the series. Across its variants, estimated values range from $948 to $16K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $37K in GEM PR grade at RARCOA. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.
Value Estimates
Values as of May 2026 — range across all strike types, reflecting typical grades (G-4 through MS-63). Coins in lower or exceptional grades may fall outside this range.
