Values
A 1796 small-eagle quarter eagle is the first two-and-a-half-dollar gold coin. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover this piece. Do not paste an auction hammer into the grade columns.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The heraldic quarter eagle is the next reverse. The quarter eagle from 1834 is the lighter coin.
Key Dates
One year. The obverse may lack stars or carry them. The reverse on this page is the small eagle either way.
Errors
No stars called damage. The starless die is the variety.
Heraldic 1796. A shield reverse is the other page.
1808. Bust left is its own page.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
1796 only, and only the small eagle. The obverse may lack stars or carry them. A shield reverse is the heraldic page, including 1796 coins with that eagle.
- 1796 without starsThe starless obverse. The missing stars are a die, not a polished-off ring. The plate on this page is this coin.
- 1796 with starsStars on the obverse, small eagle on the reverse. The source does not split a count, so this page does not either.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
1796 quarter eagles with the small eagle. Star varieties are not given separate counts.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
The chart is empty on purpose. The quarter eagle article does not print a year-by-year mintage table. A remembered count does not. The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for this coin.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. The weight row is the 1792 standard for a quarter eagle. No catalog page used here prints a thickness.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | 67.5 grains standard (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Composition | 11/12 gold, 1/12 alloy (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
No catalog page used for the Capped Bust quarter eagle with the small eagle prints a thickness. Diameter and thickness stay Not printed. The weight is the 1792 quarter-eagle standard. Stars and no-stars share it.
Grading
A 1796 small-eagle quarter eagle wears first on the cap and on the little eagle.
Stars may be missing. That is the variety. The reverse on this page is still the small eagle.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Stars | The border, with stars or without them. | No stars is a die, not damage. |
| Small eagle | The eagle in the wreath. | A shield is the heraldic quarter eagle. |
| Date | 1796 only. | 1808 is bust left and its own page. |
| Surfaces | The fields around the bust. | Adjustment marks are not cleaning lines you add later. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a capped bust quarter eagle small if you already know the type.
- The cap and the small eagle are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this capped bust quarter eagle small are already slick.
- The cap and the small eagle are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1796 quarter eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The cap and the small eagle are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from the cap and the small eagle.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The cap and the small eagle are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The cap and the small eagle still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the cap and the small eagle. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1796 quarter eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the cap and the small eagle.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the cap and the small eagle.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the cap and the small eagle.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the cap and the small eagle.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean capped bust quarter eagle small for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the cap and the small eagle.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this gold coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
Quarter eagles begin in 1796, after the half eagle and the eagle. This page is only the small-eagle reverse. The no-stars obverse is the variety people hunt, and it stays here because the reverse is still the small eagle. Heraldic eagles, the 1808 bust left, and capped head quarter eagles are other pages.
The photograph is a 1796 quarter eagle with no stars on the obverse and a small eagle on the reverse, from the National Numismatic Collection. The heraldic eagle is a different page.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The 1792 act set the quarter eagle at 67.5 grains standard. The Mint did not strike it until 1796. The quarter eagle article describes the types and does not print a delivery table. Empty is the honest chart.
Design
Obverse: capped bust right, with or without stars. Reverse: small eagle. No mint mark. The missing stars are a die, not a polished-off ring.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The quarter eagle article does not print a count for 1796. This page will not supply one.
Do no-stars and with-stars get two rows?
Not here. Both are 1796 small-eagle obverses, and the source does not split them with numbers.
Where is the heraldic quarter eagle?
On the next page, including 1796 coins whose reverse is the shield eagle.
How much is a 1796 quarter eagle worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include this coin. An auction result is not a guide cell.
Collector Considerations
Read the reverse first. Then look for stars. A bust facing left is 1808, not a rotated 1796.
A Final Word
The small-eagle quarter eagle page is one year, two obverses, and no invented count.
An auction story is not a mintage.