While the Crescent City was actually serving as headquarters for the United States Army Quartermasters and staging troops to move by ship to Corpus Christi, Texas in the Mexican-American War, the New Orleans Mint struck coins in five denominations.
Many of these coins were half dollars, but 62,000 1846-O Liberty Head Quarter Eagles were minted with most of them coming weakly struck with soft hair detail and flatness on the eagle's right leg.
Gold coin specialist Doug Winter documents three die marriages for the 1846-O Liberty Head Quarter Eagle. All share the same obverse die.
The certified population of 1846-O Liberty Head Quarter Eagles stood at 541 coins as of August 10, 2024.
More than 120 of these are "cup of coffee" AU58 sliders, with minimal wear and some luster, sometimes with some degree of collector mishandling. Fifty-three grading events are reported in Mint State, most at MS61, a common "net grade" which collectors should avoid without professional representation.
Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens High Pop: PCGS MS65 (1, 8/2024), NGC MS63+ (1, 8/2024) and CAC MS65 (1:0 stickered:holdered, 8/2024).
PCGS MS65 #85120721: James Kelly, April 1957, Lot 731; "John Jay Pittman Collection," David W. Akers, May 1998, Lot 1754 – $132,000; Stellar; Del Loy Hansen. Imaged at PCGS CoinFacts. Variety 1.
Variety 1. Rim hit near 12 o'clock. Two diagonal marks in the field just above star 1. Thin hairline between stars 7 and 8. Tick between stars 10 and 11. ERTY weak.