An 1839 Quarter Eagle - From AU-55 To AU-58 In Two And Half Years

Here is an example of how the grade on a coin can change. I recently purchased this 1839 quarter eagle for a set that I am looking to finish. Don't let the Philadelphia Mint thing fool you. This is tough date that is every bit as scarce as the pieces from the southern mints. Here are some "Coin Facts" estimates:

Date/Estimated number of survivors/Estimated number of Mint State coins

1839-P / 115 / 7
1838-C / 250 / 5
1838-D / 200 / 8
1839-O / 400 / 20

Heritage sold this coin in February 2014 in an AU-55 holder. Here are their photos:



I recently purchased this coin. It is now in an AU-58 holder. When I entered the serial number that was on the AU-55 holder into the PCGS certification check site, it came back as an invalid serial code. The number on this coin in its AU-58 holder comes back as a valid number, but there is no record that it has been sold in a major auction.

Here is coin today. My photo makes the marks on this piece look worse than they are in person, as usual.



The brown spots look like copper spots on the Heritage photo, but they aren't there today. The coin has original looking surfaces, and I can't find any evidence that they were lifted. It's also interesting to note that they did not show up on the photos Heritage put up of the entire slab. I can only assume that they were some sort of an anomaly on the Heritage close-up photos.

At any rate, here is coin that has gotten three grading points better in two and a half years.