The 1861 quarter eagle is a coin that is common enough to be easily found in any grade, up to uncirculated condition. However, the year it was produced in is very historical in the terms of the history of the United States. In this year, the most famous of all Civil Wars commenced, between the United States and the Confederate States of America (CSA), which was formed in early 1861.

The decades leading up to the Civil War (the so-called antebellum period) saw rising tensions between the northern and southern states. Not only culturally different, political opinions varied widely between the states. The prime aspect is usually thought to be slavery, although there were many other factors that led to the Civil War. The main issues were state rights, and the lack and limitations thereof. When South-Carolina seceded in January of 1861, other states soon followed, and the country that was born out of unity against the British was fallen apart.

In February of 1861, when a total of seven states had seceded from the Union, a pre-war conference was held in Washington D.C. On February 4th of that month, the Confederate States of America had been formed. The peace conference of 1861 is a much overlooked aspect of the Civil War, often overshadowed by the many battles that followed during the next four years. On the same day that the Confederate States were formed, a meeting commenced at the Willard Hotel. None of the seven deep-south states were present, but a total of 21 states were present. Fourteen of these were Free states, and another seven were slave states.

After the committee had met for a total of three weeks, the outcome was disappointing. The main point of the committee was making a decision regarding the subject of slavery in the new territories. The only result that came out of it was a constitutional amendment of seven various points, not having much influence on politics and the slavery issue. It barely passed, but afterwards it did not pass congress and soon went into history.

As mentioned, the quarter eagles of this historical year are available in most grades without much difficulty. However, a collector seeking a single example of this issue or type is smart to select only premium quality's for his or her collection. Those coins tend to hold their value much better, and it is still possibly to cherrypick these pieces carefully in the current market. This issue comes with two distinct reverses, as do the 1859 and 1860 quarter eagle issues. The old reverse, from a hub that was planned to be discontinued after 1859 has large letters and arrowheads. The new hub, which was used for the majority of 1858 to 1861 quarter eagle dies, has much smaller letters and arrowheads. The letters are also wider spaced than the earlier issues. A reason for the existence of these pieces has never been found in Mint papers, although a sudden need of reverse dies for this denomination might be the reason.

The old reverse is extremely rare, and the majority of pieces are with the new reverse. All Proofs, which were especially struck for collectors were from the new, small letter hub as well. These are extremely rare, with less than a dozen pieces still remaining in all grades. An 1861 Proof quarter eagle, or any Proof quarter eagle from this era is a true rarity, destined to be a true highlight in any collection of Civil War coinage.