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Capped Bust Gold $2.5 Quarter Eagles

Published April 19, 2026

U.S. Gold Coins

Coin Design History

Capped Bust Quarter Eagles (1808–1834)

Collectors Key Editorial  •  Gold Series
Author NameChris D.Date PublishedApril 19, 2026 DenominationQuarter Eagle ($2.50 Gold) Years Issued1808, 1821–1827, 1829–1834 DesignersJohn Reich (1808); Robert Scot (1821–1827); William Kneass (1829–1834) Composition91.67% gold, 8.33% copper Weight4.37 grams Diameter20 mm (1808); 18.5 mm approx. (1821–1827); 18.2 mm (1829–1834) EdgeReeded Combined MintageApproximately 44,775 coins (all dates) MintPhiladelphia only

A Fixed Gold-to-Silver Ratio Made These Coins Worth More Melted Than Spent

Every quarter eagle minted between 1808 and 1834 was produced under the same monetary constraint: the statutory 15-to-1 silver-to-gold ratio set by Congress in 1792 undervalued gold relative to European market prices, which by the early 1820s ran closer to 15.5 or 16 to 1. Bullion dealers could buy quarter eagles at face value of $2.50, ship them to London or Paris, and sell the gold content at a profit. Banks knew this and melted their gold reserves rather than allowing them to circulate. A single Paris melt in 1831 destroyed 40,000 half eagles. Quarter eagles minted 1821 through 1834 followed the same path: most were coined on depositors' orders, held briefly, and eventually sold to bullion dealers rather than spent. The Act of June 28, 1834 finally broke the cycle by reducing the gold content of all U.S. gold coins by approximately 6 percent, making them worth less in bullion than at face value. Old-tenor coins minted before August 1, 1834 immediately circulated as commodities worth $2.66 each and were quickly turned in for recoining. The combination of original small mintages and post-1834 mass recoinage made the entire 1808-to-1834 quarter eagle series rarer in survivors than the mintage figures alone suggest.1

John Reich's 1808 Design Survived a Single Day's Work Before a Die Break Ended Production

John Reich, a Bavarian-born engraver who had come to Philadelphia around 1800, was promoted to Assistant Engraver in 1807 after Mint Director Patterson wrote President Jefferson that the beauty of the nation's coins would be greatly improved by Reich's work. His first redesign assignments were the 1807 half dollar and half eagle; the quarter eagle followed in 1808. Reich's obverse placed Liberty facing left, wearing a cloth cap with LIBERTY inscribed on the band, her hair curling down over her shoulder; thirteen stars surround the bust and the date appears below. The reverse replaced Robert Scot's stiff Heraldic Eagle with a naturalistic bird perched on an olive branch and holding three arrows, with E PLURIBUS UNUM on a ribbon above. The denomination 2 1/2 D. appeared on a quarter eagle for the first time. A single die marriage was prepared, and the entire mintage of 2,710 coins was struck between January and February 1808, with the final delivery recorded on February 26. A progressive die crack running from Liberty's cap through the stars on the right, visible on all but one known example, almost certainly broke the die apart before the run could be extended. Approximately 125 to 150 survivors are estimated from the 2,710 struck. Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2023, lot 9006, PCGS Mint State 62, $372,000 (Harry W. Bass, Jr. Core Collection, Part II). The design was never used again on this denomination.2

Robert Scot's 1821 Adaptation Began a Seven-Date Run Punctuated by the Low-Mintage 1826

After 1808 no quarter eagles were struck for thirteen years. The denomination reappeared in 1821 with a design that Scot based on his 1813 half eagle, itself derived from Reich's work. Scot had replaced Reich professionally; his quarter eagle design retained the left-facing Liberty and naturalistic eagle but reworked the proportions, producing what critics then and later described as a less graceful execution. The design ran through seven dates: 1821, 1824 (all examples are overdates of 1824 over 1), 1825, 1826, and 1827, though the precise calendar year of some deliveries remains approximate given the Mint's die-dating practices. No year reached a mintage of 10,000 pieces; the 1826 recorded only 760 coins, the lowest of any date in the entire 1808-to-1834 series; the 1827 reached 2,800. Most dates in this group are known by a few dozen examples; none can reasonably be called available in any grade. The 1825 is the most frequently encountered date in Mint State, probably because some pieces were set aside as curiosities. The 1821 had the series' largest output at 6,448 coins and is correspondingly the most available of the 1821-to-1827 type in circulated grades.3

The quarter eagle under these three engravers never achieved commercial relevance. In 1808 the denomination was an afterthought, struck once and forgotten for thirteen years. In the 1820s it existed at the margins of a monetary system that made gold worth melting rather than spending. In the early 1830s it continued to be struck in small batches while being exported and smelted as fast as it could be coined. What the collector encounters today is not a circulated series but a hoarded one: coins that survived precisely because they never entered commerce, saved by numismatists or bankers as curiosities, and now rare because everything else was melted.

Kneass's 1829 Modification Introduced Close-Collar Coinage; the 1834 Old-Tenor Is a Great Rarity

In 1823 Scot died and was succeeded by William Kneass, who in 1829 modified the quarter eagle dies to take advantage of close-collar coining technology, a steel collar ring that standardized the coin's diameter and imparted the reeded edge in a single pressing. The diameter was reduced to approximately 18.2 millimeters, the stars were made smaller, and the border was refined. The result was a more mechanically consistent coin than the 1821-to-1827 issues. The most available dates in this phase are 1830, 1831, and 1832, each struck in approximately 4,400 to 4,540 pieces; these are the dates most often recommended for type collectors because they are both more available and more consistently well struck. The series ended abruptly in 1834. When Congress passed the Coinage Act of June 28, 1834 reducing gold coin weights, the Mint struck 4,000 quarter eagles on the old standard before August 1, the cutoff date; most were withheld and melted as the new lighter coins replaced them. Only a few dozen 1834 old-tenor quarter eagles survive, making it by far the rarest date of the 1829-to-1834 type despite having the second-highest stated mintage in that group.4

Building the Set

A standard type set of quarter eagles requires three coins from the 1808-to-1834 period: the 1808 one-year type, one coin from the 1821-to-1827 large-diameter type, and one coin from the 1829-to-1834 small-diameter type. The 1808 is the most expensive of the three by a substantial margin, and along with the 1796 No Stars Draped Bust is among the most expensive coins in a complete United States type set. For the 1821-to-1827 type, the 1825 is the most frequently recommended choice because it offers the best prospect of finding a problem-free Mint State example; the 1821 is the best option in circulated grades. For the 1829-to-1834 type, the 1830 and 1831 are consistently well struck and most available. The 1826 and the 1834 are for specialists only: the 1826 at 760 pieces is the low-mintage rarity of the entire series, and the 1834 old-tenor requires patience and budget. Gem (Mint State 65 or finer) examples of any date and type exist but are individually notable; the realistic acquisition target across all three type coins is Extremely Fine to About Uncirculated for the 1808 and the 1821-to-1827 dates, and About Uncirculated to lower Mint State for the more available 1829-to-1834 dates. The primary specialist reference is Bowers, Q. David, A Guide Book of Quarter Eagle Gold Coins (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2022).5

Notes

  1. The statutory 15-to-1 silver-to-gold ratio set in 1792; the European market running at approximately 15.5 to 16 to 1 by the early 1820s; bullion dealers' arbitrage (buying at face value, melting and selling in Europe at a profit); banks melting gold reserves rather than circulating them; the 1831 Paris melt destroying 40,000 half eagles in a single event; the Act of June 28, 1834 reducing gold coin weights by approximately 6 percent, restoring the face-value premium over bullion value; old-tenor coins worth approximately $2.66 and quickly turned in for recoining after August 1, 1834; both the original small mintages and the post-1834 mass recoinage as causes of the series' rarity today are from Bowers, Q. David, A Guide Book of Quarter Eagle Gold Coins (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2022), pp. 215–290, and Breen, Walter, Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins (New York: F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, 1988).
  2. Reich's background (Bavarian-born engraver, arrived in Philadelphia around 1800, promoted to Assistant Engraver in 1807 after Patterson's letter to Jefferson); the 1807 half dollar and half eagle redesigns preceding the quarter eagle; the 1808 obverse description (Liberty facing left, cloth cap with LIBERTY on band, hair curling down, thirteen stars, date below); the reverse (naturalistic eagle on olive branch, three arrows, E PLURIBUS UNUM ribbon above, 2 1/2 D. denomination appearing for the first time on a quarter eagle); the single die marriage; the full mintage of 2,710 coins struck in early 1808 with the final delivery recorded on February 26, 1808; the die crack visible on all but one known example presumably causing the die break; approximately 125 to 150 survivors estimated are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Quarter Eagle Gold Coins, pp. 215–260. Auction: Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2023, lot 9006, 1808 Quarter Eagle, PCGS Mint State 62, $372,000 (Harry W. Bass, Jr. Core Collection, Part II).
  3. The thirteen-year gap after 1808; the 1821 reintroduction with Scot's design based on his 1813 half eagle; the seven dates (1821, 1824/1 overdate, 1825, 1826, 1827); no year reaching 10,000 pieces; the 1826 at 760 coins as the lowest mintage of the entire 1808-to-1834 series; the 1827 at 2,800; most dates known by a few dozen examples; the 1825 as the most frequently encountered date in Mint State; the 1821 at 6,448 coins as the most available in circulated grades are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Quarter Eagle Gold Coins, pp. 260–330.
  4. Scot's death in 1823 and Kneass's succession; the 1829 close-collar modification reducing the diameter to approximately 18.2 millimeters, refining the border, and producing more consistent coins; the most available 1829-to-1834 dates (1830 at approximately 4,540, 1831 at approximately 4,520, 1832 at approximately 4,400) and their recommendation for type collectors; the 4,000 coins struck on the old standard before August 1, 1834; most of those withheld and melted as the new lighter-weight coins replaced them; only a few dozen 1834 old-tenor quarter eagles surviving are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Quarter Eagle Gold Coins, pp. 330–400.
  5. The three-type set requirement (1808, 1821-to-1827 large diameter, 1829-to-1834 small diameter); the 1808 as the most expensive of the three; the 1825 for the 1821-to-1827 type (best Mint State prospect) and 1821 for circulated grades; the 1830 and 1831 for the 1829-to-1834 type (most available, best struck); the 1826 as the low-mintage rarity and the 1834 old-tenor for specialists; Gem examples as individually notable across all types; realistic target grades for each type; and the primary reference are from Bowers, Q. David, A Guide Book of Quarter Eagle Gold Coins (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2022).

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