A Wallflower of a Coin
At a time when one dollar could represent a couple days’ work, the quarter was a fairly considerable sum. Daily business was transacted in cents, rather than dollars, so a high priority of the new mint was getting smaller coins in circulation.
The first quarters weren’t struck until 1796, and only 6,147 were made. Demand for quarters was so low that no more were struck until 1804, and then only 6,736 were produced. Roughly 121,000 were struck the following year followed by slightly over 200,000 in 1806 and 1807.
Demand for quarters remained low, so with barely over 500,000 quarters in circulation, production was suspended, not to be resumed until seven years later.
The Early Designs – Draped Liberty
The original draft of the Coinage Act called for a portrait of the president on its face, but that was rejected as being too akin to the royalty depicted on European coins. Instead, the Act was revised to place an image emblematic of liberty on its front. The quarter would contain 0.238 ounce of “standard” (89.25% pure) silver alloyed with copper, one-quarter the amount in the dollar coin.
The 1796 coin depicted a bust of Lady Liberty with long, flowing hair and her shoulders covered by a drape. She was enclosed on each side by fifteen stars representing the addition of Vermont and Kentucky to the original thirteen states. The word “Liberty” was above and the year 1796 was below the bust. The reverse carried an eagle surrounded by olive branches and the inscription “United Sates of America.” There was no denomination on the 1796 coin.
When the quarter was reissued in 1804 the obverse (face) remained unchanged other than having the number of stars reduced to the original thirteen, but the reverse design now depicted a larger heraldic eagle holding a ribbon with the national motto, E Pluribus Unum, in its beak. Thirteen stars floated above the eagle capped by stylized clouds. It held arrows in its right talon and olive branches in its left, a reverse of prior depictions of the national symbol, causing some to claim it was needlessly militaristic. The denomination, expressed as “25 C,” rested below the eagle. This design would remain until production ceased in 1808.
Rarity and Values
There are a surprising number of 1796 quarters surviving, probably because many were saved from the original run since collectors knew it would not be extended the following year. But it’s still not a large amount and few come to market in any given year. That makes them one of the more desirable quarters with even heavily worn coins bringing several thousand dollars. PCGS, the coin grading service, has identified 36 mint-state coins (MS-60 and above), most of which carry six-figure price tags. The record was set in 2013 when an MS-67 specimen went for $1,527,500 at auction.
The record for the low-mintage 1804 quarter is $310,500. Higher-mintage years that followed also command high prices since the coins were not saved as judiciously, making survival rates comparatively low. Several mint-state samples remain, though, and an 1807 MS-67 coin sold for over $400,000 in 2013.
In 1806 the Mint overstruck some 1805-dated quarters and the overstrike is prominent even on heavily worn coins. The overstrike coins are popular with collectors, and only a few dozen survive, but they don’t command that high a premium over the normal strikes of 1806. The record is an MS-66 coin that sold for $188,000.
Collecting Quarters
As with all coins, rarity and condition dictate prices for collectible quarters. The earlier Liberty quarters sell for over $200,000 in top condition, and 19th century coins, while not terribly rare, can be quite valuable for small mintages. On the other hand, quarters of most designs and mintages are not that hard to find in good-to-excellent condition without breaking the bank.
For more information about the 200-plus year history of quarters, their rarity and values, see the PCGS Coin Facts website.
