An Introduction to the Early Quarter Eagles ($2.50 Gold Coins), 1796 to 1834 — Welcome to the CAC Educational Forum

An Introduction to the Early Quarter Eagles ($2.50 Gold Coins), 1796 to 1834

   Back in 1960 when I was just starting to push Lincoln Cents into my Whitman penny folders, I was very surprised when my mother told me that she had seen two and a half dollar gold pieces when she was young. That denomination seemed weird to me because there was no paper money equivalent to it. Of course to all 19th century Americans and to the first generations of the 20th century, the two and a half dollar gold coin or quarter eagle was as ordinary as a silver dollar or the other gold coins. One didn’t see those coins every day because they did not circulate that much, but everyone was aware that they existed.

     Although a $2.50 coin may seem odd today, it was actually a logical extension of our monetary system. The Coinage Act of 1792 created a hybrid of the decimal money system, which the United States introduced, and the Spanish system of “bits” or “eighths” of a dollar that the United States inherited. The major silver unit or dollar was divided into subsidiary parts, which included the half-dollar or “four bits” and the quarter-dollar or “two bits.” Similarly the ten dollar gold piece or “eagle,” which was the major gold unit, was divided into its half eagle and quarter eagle parts.

     Bonding requirements barred key mint officials from handling gold and silver for more than a year after the Philadelphia Mint opened. Once secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, persuaded Congress to lower the bonds and secured loans for the mint officials who required them, the mint was impowered to issue its first gold and silver coins. The mint issued the first silver dollars and half dollars in late 1794, and the first gold pieces appeared in July of 1795. A lack of interest delayed the issuance of the first quarter eagles for more than a year.  

NGC MS-62

1796 No Stars Quarter Eagle

     The U.S. Mint issued the first quarter eagles in September 1796. Only 68 pieces were minted at the time because the reverse die cracked. An additional 897 quarter eagles were issued in December, which brought the total mintage to 963. Those coins featured a bust of Ms. Liberty wearing a hat and hairstyle that was in fashion of the time. The reverse introduced a heraldic eagle that would become the standard design for all U.S. gold and silver coins by the year 1800. The very first quarter eagles had no stars on the obverse, which was an unusual feature. All of the other U.S. gold and silver coins had stars on the obverse, and designer Robert Scott changed that when he made the second quarter eagle obverse die later in 1796.

     Collectors have debated as to why the stars were left off the obverse of those 1796 quarter eagles. Was it a shortcut to get the coin into production quickly? Did designer Scot think that including stars on the obverse and reverse was a redundancy? Was it because the star punch was broken? Until we are able to locate a notation in some yet to be discovered mint records, we will probably never know.

     With a mintage of only 963 pieces the 1796 “no stars” quarter eagle is a rare coin. Of all the coins that are requited for a complete U.S. type set, the 1796 No Stars quarter eagle is the rarest by a small margin and the most expensive. Current estimates are that there are 125 survivors out of the 963 that were minted.

     Late in the year, Robert Scot made a 1796 dated die with stars on the obverse. With a smaller mintage of only 432, the 1796 With Stars quarter is a rarer coin. Yet the No Stars variety is a one year type coin, and for that reason it generally sells for higher prices that the “with stars” piece.

PCGS "Old Green Label" AU-50

Capped Bust with Stars, 1796 - 1807

     The Capped Bust Right Quarter Eagles were issued for most years from 1796 to 1807, but the mintages were small. Back in the early days of the Philadelphia Mint banks, businesses and wealthy individuals were encouraged to deposit gold and silver for coinage into United States currency. Since these depositors could specify the denominations they wanted, the coins of choice were the silver dollar and the five and ten dollar gold pieces. These demands were heavily influenced by the fact that the higher denomination coins were more convenient to use in large transactions, such as payments for purchases overseas.

     The dime sized quarter eagles were ordered largely on a whim according to the late numismatic authority, Walter Breen. The most frequent requests for them came from two Philadelphia banks, the Bank of Pennsylvania and the Bank of the United States. Since most of these early coins are usually in VF to AU, it appears that these pieces spent a fair amount of time in bank vaults and comparatively little time in people’s pockets and purses.

     These coins were also popular for use as jewelry, and more than a few of these pieces have been salvaged from loops and broaches. Although one must be careful examine these pieces for evidence of jewelry use, early quarter eagles that show such problems are still quite valuable because the coins are so scarce.

     It was no accident that the diameters of the early gold coins coincided with those of certain silver pieces. The similarity in size between the dime and quarter eagle, the quarter and the half eagle and the half-dollar and the eagle made it possible for the mint to use some of its tools interchangeably. The only known instances in which two denominations shared the same die have been found between the dime and the quarter eagle. There are die varieties of 1800, 1802, 1803, 1804 and 1807 dimes that share a reverse with varieties of quarter eagles.

PCGS "Old Green Label" AU-50

1808 Quarter Eagle

     In 1808 newly hired mint engraver, John Reich, redesigned the quarter eagle as a part of his assignment to replace every coin design that was then in production at the first U.S. mint. Reich’s design featured a buxom woman, who his detractors claimed was patterned after “his fat mistress.” Unlike the other designs that he created, the mint produced Reich’s Capped Bust quarter eagle for only one year. That resulted in the creation of the second rarest type coin (the 1796 No Stars Quarter is #1.) in the United States series.

     Only 2,710, 1808 quarter eagles were struck. John Dannreuther, who co-wrote the book Early U.S. Coin Varieties, estimates that only 125 to 150, 1808 quarter eagles exist in all grades. Among type collectors and gold coin enthusiasts, acquiring an 1808 quarter eagle is a numismatic milestone. The coin is no rarer than most other early quarter eagle die varieties, but since the entire mintage was made from one die pair, the coin is hard to locate and quite expensive once you find one.

     More than 150 years after he completed his last die at the first U.S. Mint, die variety enthusiasts discovered that John Reich "signed" all of the dies that he created for the gold and half dollar coinages. On each of those dies, Reich placed a notch on one of the arms of the 13th star. The notch is sometimes small and sometimes large, but it is always there. True to form there is a notch on the 13th star of the 1808 quarter eagle. 

NGC MS-61, shot at an angle to show the luster. The low mintages for the pieces often account for P-L surfaces that show every mark in vivid detail. This is a tough type to find with good eye appeal.

Capped Bust Left, Large Diameter, 1821 - 1827

     The Mint did not issue any quarter eagles from 1809 to 1820. In 1821 the quarter eagle reappeared with a design that Reich had created for the half eagle in 1813. By this time Reich had left the mint, and chief mint engraver, Robert Scott, who was 77 years old and well past his prime, cut the dies from Reich’s design. This depiction of Ms. Liberty was a very matronly lady, shown in low relief with a stout face and blunt features. The reverse was quite similar to the design that Reich had introduced in 1808. Once more the annual mintages were small. Some collectors and dealers call these early U.S. gold coins “the fatty” five dollar and fatty two and half dollar gold pieces. 

PCGS AU-55

Capped Bust Left, Reduced Diameter, 1829 - 1834

     In 1829 the mint modified its production procedures for the quarter eagle by introducing the close collar to that denomination. In the past the edge reeding had been applied to the coin in a separate operation. Starting in 1829 the blank planchets were dropped in a collar and the reeding was squeezed on the coin at the same time that it was struck. This change eliminated a step in the coining process and gave the finished coins a more uniform diameter.

     The closed collar coin dies, which were created by mint engraver, William Kneass, differed slightly from the open collar pieces. Most collectors recognize them as a separate type. Once more the mintages were very small; the coins are quite scarce; and they were almost never seen in circulation. In fact, they were most frequently used to pay members of Congress who demanded that they receive their salaries in gold. Most of their half eagle counterparts were exported to Europe and subsequently melted. 

I will cover the later types in another post.

Comments

  • Very nice @BillJones Thanks for putting this together. I hope to one day own one or two of the more common dates in these types for my gold type set. Almost went after a couple $5 sisters of these recently but the timing was not right. I look forward to your next installment.

  • edited December 2021

    Thank you @pcgscacgold!

    I will warn you that the early Quarter Eagles are where "the rubber meets the road" with respect to rarity and high prices. Believe it or not, the Capped Bust, Heraldic Eagle type (1796 - 1807) is the most common type coin in this group, and it is anything but a soft touch. The 1804 dated piece that I illustrated in this article cost me a couple years savings. The others are far harder.

  • Thanks for the warning. In this crazy gold coin market I would be very limited. Maybe they will come back to Earth at some point. I would be an XF kind of guy probably 😃

  • Here is the most common early U.S. Gold coin, the 1806 Round top 6 with 7 X 6 star configuration.

    At these these coins have some rarity and history to support them, unlike some the modern issues, which go up in price like a rocket and then crash and burn.

  • Very nice. I see only 16 are graded across all grades for that date. Only 2 in EF so my guess is none will ever become available in my lifetime.

    I would probably have a better chance at an 1802/1 with over 70 PCGS graded coins.

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