Vital Stats.
Type 1 - 1815 - 1828
Designer: John Reich
Diameter: 29 millimeters
Content: 89% silver 11% copper
Weight: 6.74 grams
Edge: Reeded
Type 1 Quarter
Year/
Mint Mark | Circulation
Strikes |
| 1815 | 89,235 |
| 1818 | 361,174 |
| 1819 | 144,000 |
| 1820 | 127,444 |
| 1821 | 216,851 |
| 1822 | 64,080 |
| 1823 | 17,800 |
| 1824 & 25 | 168,000 |
| 1827 | 4,000 |
| 1828 | 102,000 |
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Type 1
Large Diameter
This coins designer, Reich, brought Europe to America. His obverse design shows
Liberty facing left, surrounded by 13 stars, with the date below the bust. Liberty
is quite buxom, and even though she was characterized in the press as "the artist's
fat mistress," she is probably representative of Europe in that period.
The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings perched on a branch and holding
three arrows and the Union Shield on its breast. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM can be
seen on a scroll above the eagle.
The Type 1 Capped Bust quarter is often known as the "Large Size." A more accurate
designation would be the "Open Collar" type. They were struck without a restraining
collar which gave them a broad, low-rimmed appearence and a slightly larger diameter.
The type 1 is only larger in relation to its smaller successor the type 2, issued
from 1831 onward. In reality, diameters vary widely over the years.
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Type 2 Quarter
Type 2 - 1831-1836
Designer: John Reich
Diameter: 27 millimeters
Content: 89% silver 11% copper
Weight: 6.74 grams
Edge: Reeded
Type 2 - 1837-1838
Designer:(1837-38 modified by William Kneass)
Diameter: 24.3 millimeters
Content: 90% silver 10% copper
Weight: 6.7 grams
Year/
Mint Mark | Circulation
Strikes |
| 1831 | 398,000 |
| 1832 | 320,000 |
| 1833 | 156,000 |
| 1834 | 286,000 |
| 1835 | 1,952,000 |
| 1836 | 472,000 |
| 1837 | 252,400 |
| 1838 | 366,000 |
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Type 2
Small Diameter
The quarter did not compete well with the Spanish 2 reales and the demand for quarters
was limited. The Spanish 2 reales coins were legal tender (par with the heavier
quarter), so the quarter coin was either hoarded or melted for its silver content.
There is also a mystery surrounding the Capped Bust quarter. There are pieces, mostly
dated 1815 and 1825, that have a large "E" or "L" counterstamped above Liberty's head.
Collectors in the 1870's thought they had official origins, possibly as some experiment,
but official records have no mention of these pieces.
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