1877 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle
The 1877 Proof Liberty Head Quarter Eagle is extremely rare, and not unexpectedly so, given a mintage of only 20 Proofs with few pieces surviving at all, much less at this lofty grade level. As Breen noted, collector demand for these Proofs is exceptionally high, as Philadelphia produced only 1,632 business strikes. Dannreuther-Garrett show only six Proofs at auction over 10 years, only two in higher grade.
The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the June 2005 Public Auction Sale, where it sold for $9,775.