Capped Bust Quarter Eagle

The Capped Bust Quarter Eagle very shyly and quietly appeared on the U.S. coinage landscape in 1808, then went to sleep for thirteen tumultuous years. It reappeared again in 1821 and continued to be struck in small numbers through 1834, before being put BACK to sleep... for good. Consider it a scarce U.S. gold coin that filled in the time until the U.S. Mint could get REALLY serious about striking gold coins.

Specifications

 * Designer: Robert Scot
 * Obverse Design:
 * Reverse Design:
 * Edge: Reeded
 * Weight: ±4.37 grams
 * Diameter: ±18.5 millimeters
 * Composition:  Gold (91.7%), Other (8.3%)
 * Dates Minted: 1808, 1821, 1824 - 1834

Background
In its first 25 years or so of operation, the U.S. Mint had copper coinage down pat pretty much. The silver and gold coinage situation, that was a different story. For the first three decades, the U.S. Mint was hard-pressed to obtain enough silver and gold bullion to produce a sufficient amount of silver and gold coin denominations– in fact, the Mint was pretty much at the mercy of its private bullion depositors– whatever coin denominations they wanted in payment for their precious metal deposits, that’s what the U.S. Mint was compelled to produce.

But procuring enough gold and silver to make coins with, was only part of the problem. Another huge problem was the profiteers, bullion speculators who brought in silver and gold bullion to be coined, then turned around and exported the newly-minted coins OUT of the United States, to be traded in at a profit elsewhere in the world (the West Indies for instance). In fact, this situation got to be so bad, that later, in 1892, a Harvard economist professor wrote that in early years, U.S. Mint operations could be described as “a useless expense to the nation, but a source of profit to the money-brokers.”

History
Then there were the wars of the early 1800's, the War of 1812 and the European Napoleonic Wars in particular. The War of 1812 made a mess of the economy in the United States, for whereby the silver to gold ratio of 15 to 1 was the law of the United States, in Europe, the ratio was 16 to 1. Consequently, gold coins, the few that were struck by the U.S. Mint, flew out of this country to Europe where they were melted for profit. At the same time, Spanish silver coinage, no longer flowing back to Spain because of the Napoleonic Wars, now poured into the United States, thus diluting the value of silver.

By 1821, things had settled down enough both here in the United States and in Europe, that the climate seemed safe for the striking of gold coins again. It was during this period that gold was now starting to come out of the hills of Georgia and North Carolina– primarily Rutherford County, North Carolina. Still, at this juncture, the U.S. Mint Chief Engraver, Robert Scot, was surprised when several banks, who made gold deposits to the Mint, requested quarter-eagle gold coins, in addition to the larger gold coin denominations.

Scot resurrected John Reich’s Capped Bust quarter-eagle design of 1808 for the new 1821 quarter-eagle, though the new Liberty bust (wearing Phrygian or Liberty Cap) was smaller and with a more thick, squat neck. In addition, the 1821 version of the quarter-eagle was smaller in diameter (18.5 mm compared to 1808's 20 mm.), but slightly thicker, so the weight remained the same. From 1829 to 1834, the Capped Bust Liberty head was enlarged, but the diameter of the coin was reduced again, to 18.2 mm.

Collecting
While the 1808 Capped Bust quarter-eagle gold coin had a mintage of only 2,710, the 1821 quarter-eagle had a slightly higher mintage of 6,448. But that would be the highest mintage of all Capped Bust quarter-eagles. The 1826/26 had the lowest production in the series, with just 760 struck. Still, this date doesn’t retail much higher than the other dates– just $6,000 in Fine (and in THIS rare gold coin series, “just” is a very relative term)! All other years would see mintages of just 2,600 to 4,540. But while the 1821 to 1833 have retail values today of $4,950 to $5,500 in Fine condition, the 1834 date retails $8,800 in Fine even though its mintage of 4,000 equals that of the other dates in the series. BUT... most of the 1834 mintage was not put into circulation, rather, they were melted!

The 1808, the earliest date in the Capped Bust quarter-eagle series, AND a one-year sub-type, is quite rare today. It retails at $22,500 in Fine.

Grading
Most Capped Bust quarter-eagles survive today in grades of Very Fine to Uncirculated. Remember, these gold coins were not making the rounds on the street, being passed from hand to hand. Many were melted, especially through 1831, which accounts for their rarity today. But the ones that escaped the melting pot, generally survived in nicer conditon.

Later in 1834, the Capped Bust quarter-eagle was replace by the even shorter-lived (but produced in greater numbers) Classic Head quarter-eagle.

Mints

 * Philadelphia Mint (No mintmark)