Values
A capped head quarter eagle is the old-tenor two-and-a-half of 1821–1834. 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 1808 bust left is the previous quarter eagle. The quarter eagle from 1834 is the lighter coin.
Key Dates
1821 resumes the denomination. 1834 is the last year of this cap. Classic Head is the other 1834.
Errors
1808. One year, a different bust, its own page.
Classic Head. The weight cut is the next series.
Half eagle capped head. Five dollars, larger, and it starts in 1813.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
Capped Head quarter eagles, 1821 through 1834, on the old weight. The diameter comes down late in the run. The Classic Head after 1834 is the later quarter eagle page.
- Large diameterThe 1821 start, through the large coins of the 1820s.
- Reduced diameterThe size comes down in 1829 and runs to 1834. It is still this head.
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
Capped Head quarter eagles, 1821–1834, old standard.
| 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. The 1834 reduction is not this coin. 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 | John Reich |
No catalog page used for the Capped Head quarter eagle prints a thickness. Diameter and thickness stay Not printed. The weight is the 1792 quarter-eagle standard. Classic Head is the 1834 reduction.
Grading
A capped head quarter eagle wears first on the large cap and on the cheek.
Coinage resumes in 1821 after the 1808 pause. Classic Head is the lighter 1834 coin.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | The large cap. | The 1808 bust is the previous quarter eagle. |
| Date | 1821 through 1834. | The missing years before 1821 are a pause. |
| Cheek | The cheek and the hair. | Wear shows there first. |
| Heraldic eagle | The eagle on the reverse. | The reverse is part of the grade. The 1792 weight does not name it. |
| Weight standard | The 1792 weight, not the June 1834 cut. | Classic Head belongs on the later page. |
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 head quarter eagle if you already know the type.
- The large cap and the cheek 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 head quarter eagle are already slick.
- The large cap and the cheek are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1821 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 large cap and the cheek 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 large cap and the cheek.
- 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 large cap and the cheek 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 large cap and the cheek still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the large cap and the cheek. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1821 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 large cap and the cheek.
- 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 large cap and the cheek.
- 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 large cap and the cheek.
- 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 large cap and the cheek.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean capped head quarter eagle for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the large cap and the cheek.
- 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
The capped head quarter eagle is the 1821–1834 coin with the large cap, still 67.5 grains standard. It follows a long pause after 1808. It ends when Congress cut the gold weight in 1834. Classic Head, Liberty Head, and Indian Head quarter eagles are the later page.
The photograph is an 1821 Capped Head quarter eagle from the National Numismatic Collection. The 1834 reduced-diameter coin is also this page. Do not grade every date as if it were that plate.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
Quarter eagles were idle after 1808. The capped head brought them back in 1821 and carried them to the 1834 law. The article tells that sequence without a year table. This page does the same.
Design
Obverse: large cap, head left. Reverse: heraldic eagle. Two and a half dollars. No mint mark. The cap is the type against the 1808 bust.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The quarter eagle article does not print year counts for 1821–1834.
Why is there a gap before 1821?
After the 1808 bust-left coin, quarter eagles were not struck again until this capped head. The missing years are a pause, not hidden rows.
Is 1834 the Classic Head?
Classic Head is the reduced-weight quarter eagle on the page that starts in 1834. This page ends with the old cap and the old weight.
How much is a capped head 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
Date the coin, then look at the cap and the weight standard you are claiming. A Classic Head is not a worn capped head.
A Final Word
The capped head quarter eagle page is the last old-tenor two-and-a-half, and an empty chart.
An auction story is not a mintage.