1849-C

The 1849-C quarter eagle came out of the Charlotte branch at a slim 10,220 pieces, one of the lowest production totals the facility recorded across the entire decade. Charlotte had been processing local Carolina gold for thirteen years by this point, and the operation continued to draw on the relatively shallow placer and lode deposits of the southern Appalachians. The 1849 production year fell just before the California discovery began to redirect national bullion supply, and Charlotte was already feeling the squeeze from a regional gold supply that had peaked years earlier. The pieces moved straight into circulation through the cotton-trade economy of the Carolinas and Georgia, and most encountered today show meaningful wear at the high points of Liberty's coronet and the eagle's shield. Doug Winter places survival in the 80 to 110 range across all grades, with the population skewed heavily toward Very Fine and lower circulated examples. Choice About Uncirculated coins are notable rarities, and Mint State pieces are major-event purchases when they surface.

Authentication centers on the C mintmark, which sits below the eagle on the reverse and was hand-punched into working dies at Philadelphia before shipment to Charlotte. A genuine 1849-C mintmark shows the documented serifed Charlotte C with crisp upper and lower terminals and slight rightward tilt, and the punch impression crowns into the field with metal flow that thins gradually outward. The standard counterfeit play is an added C cut or soldered onto a Philadelphia 1849 quarter eagle host, which means buyers should expect deceptions and inspect the mintmark area at 10x or higher. Tells of an added mintmark include flat punch tops, perimeter tooling marks, solder seams visible under raking light, and a font shape that deviates from documented Charlotte punches of the period. Confirm the standard 4.18 grams at specific gravity near 17.2, with a properly reeded edge under coin alignment. Strike weakness on the central obverse is a date characteristic and not evidence of repair.

The 1849-C holds an upper-tier Key Date position within the Charlotte run, comparable in difficulty to the 1844-C and the late-decade rarities. Specialist demand has lifted certified prices steadily over the last fifteen years. See the full Liberty Head Quarter Eagle series history.