![]() ![]() The thirteen star variety is extremely rare and without question the key to the series: Only nine examples are believed to exist in all grades. Following was the 1804, with both thirteen and fourteen star reverses. Next came the 1802one of the few so-called "common" dates in this series which is actually an overdate, but very faint. The Five Berry reverse is significantly scarcer, but receives little attention, as the date is very scarce regardless of variety. The 1798 issue saw two reverses with either four or five berries on the olive branch. Only 20 examples are believed to survive of the 1797 issue out of a mintage of 427 pieces. Many reverse dies were also used to mint dimes when quarter eagle production was completed. Reverse stars ranged from thirteen to sixteen, and not in any particular order, at that. The reverses genuflected within several years, reflecting the Mint's haste or fear of waste. The position of the obverse stars changed almost every year, mimicking the arrangement on the more popular coins. Thus began the dance of changing obverse and reverse dies for this design. The reverse of the coin though, was from the previous year it had sixteen stars. The 1797 issue had thirteen stars on the obverse, 7 left, 6 right. The No Stars variety of this year stands alone as a distinct separate type, but date collectors generally include it as a part of the extended series. Thereafter, only 13 stars were to be used, symbolizing the original states. After Tennessee was admitted however, Mint Director Boudinot realized the impracticality of adding a star for each new state. With Tennessee's recent admission to the Union, 16 stars were on the obverse, 8 left, 8 right. Whether due to artistic taste or uniformity of design, the quarter eagle obverse received stars for the last coinage of 1796. However, the half eagle and eagle were still using the small eagle reverse, with stars on their respective obverses. These first quarter eagles lacked stars on the obverse because they were placed on the reverse as part of the new Heraldic eagle design. The coin's reverse features a heraldic eagle, Scot's adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States with clouds arcing from wing to wing, enclosing stars, with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the margin. However, even Mint Director Samuel Moore identified this cap in 1825 as a fashionable headdress of the 1790s, and indeed there are portraits of Martha Washington wearing just such a hat. The cap was long thought to be a liberty or Phrygian cap, taken from an ancient Roman model. The obverse depicts Liberty facing right, wearing a soft cap, with the inscription LIBERTY above, and the date below. The first quarter eagle, the 1796 Capped Bust Right (Turban Head) without stars was designed by Chief Engraver Robert Scot. The paucity of early quarter eagles has a flip side for numismatists however, as these coins in their many variations are among the rarest in numismatics, and have both fascinated and frustrated collectors and researchers for years. The cent, half dollar, and half eagle took center stage during this era they were the real workhorses. Although authorized by the Mint Act of 1792, by all appearances the coin was an unwanted stepchild: it was the last denomination made, and then only in such small quantities as to be of little use in commerce. A few large Northeastern banks did occasionally order quarter eagles, but apparently more as a whim than out of necessity, as most remained in their vaults. The denomination may as well not have existed at all. It was unlikely however, that anyone outside the Philadelphia Mint would see that amount in the form of the new quarter eagle coin: so few were made, and fewer still entered circulation. Image Courtesy of Heritage Auctions on eBayĪt the turn of the 19th century, two and a half dollars represented a considerable sum of money, five days wages for the average U.S. ![]()
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