1824 4 Over 1

Every 1824 quarter eagle is an overdate. There is no normal 1824 issue, because the Mint struck no quarter eagles at all in 1822 or 1823 and the dies on hand when production resumed were leftover 1821 working dies. The engraving department repunched the final digit, turning the 1 into a 4 rather than preparing a fresh die, and ran the entire delivery from those repunched 1821 dies. Mint records show 2,600 pieces struck, the only 1824-dated quarter eagles in existence, and the variety designation on the catalog tile reflects this physical reality rather than a separately collectible sub-issue. The 4/1 sits in the second sub-type of the series, the Capped Head Left work John Reich modified from his 1808 Capped Bust Right design, with all production at Philadelphia.

Authentication starts at the date itself. Under five to ten power magnification, the vertical stem of the underlying 1 should be visible behind or inside the vertical leg of the 4, and on stronger strikes the curve where the 1's serif meets its stem can also be picked out below the 4's crossbar. A clean 4 with no underlying remnant is a red flag, since no 1824 die exists without the overdate. The second diagnostic is metallurgical: a genuine piece weighs 4.37 grams in 0.9167 fine gold under the pre-1834 standard, with a reeded edge and coin alignment, and any underweight or off-color example warrants immediate suspicion. Cast counterfeits, the historic threat for early gold, betray themselves with grainy field texture and softened detail in the stars and shield lines.

The 4/1 is the most accessible Capped Head Left date for collectors building a sub-type set, sitting well below the 1826/5 in price while still carrying a documented overdate story. Survival across all grades runs roughly fifty to seventy-five examples by current PCGS estimates, with the bulk grading VF to AU and Mint State pieces scarce enough that a single auction appearance moves the working ceiling. Certified examples are the safer purchase; the combination of overdate diagnostics, weight and alloy authentication, and the cast-counterfeit risk makes raw acquisition a specialist's exercise. See the full Capped Bust Quarter Eagle series history.