1815 25C MS(PCGS#5321)

November 2017 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

10046

等级

MS63

价格

35,005

详细说明

Significant First Year 1815 Capped Bust Quarter 1815 Capped Bust Quarter. B-1, the only known dies. Rarity-1. MS-63 (PCGS). Satiny surfaces are dusted with light golden-gray patina that allows full appreciation of mint luster. The strike is well executed with bold to sharp definition throughout the design, and the surfaces are expectably well preserved for the assigned grade. Although authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, the first quarter dollars were not produced until 1796. During the earliest years of U.S. Mint operations silver coins were produced at the specific request of bullion depositors, and the quarter dollar was not a popular denomination as evidenced by the mintage figures of the 1790s and early 1800s. The highest mintage date before 1831 is the 1818, which was produced to the extent of only 361,174 pieces. In 1796, the inaugural year of the quarter dollar, just 6,146 pieces filled the Mint's orders for this denomination. Quarter dollar production was also sporadic throughout the earliest decades of Mint operations, with many years passing in which no examples were produced. The largest gaps in production were from 1797 through 1803 and from 1808 through 1814. The 1815 is the first issue of the Capped Bust type. Much of the mintage of 89,235 pieces filled a request for quarter dollars from the Planters Bank of New Orleans. Widely known to numismatists for their counterstamped Spanish cut fractional coins, the Planters Bank deposited nearly $15,000 in silver bullion for coinage purposes in 1815 and requested only quarter dollars in return. The new quarter dollars depicted assistant engraver John Reich's Capped Bust portrait of Liberty that was first used on the half dollar and half eagle in 1807. A single die pair struck the entire 1815-dated issue, after which quarter dollar coinage was halted once again until 1818. As a first year issue, the 1815 Capped Bust quarter is eagerly sought by both type collectors and series specialists. The issue is obtainable by early quarter standards, at least in lower circulated grades, although AU examples are scarce. The 1815 is rare in Mint State, however, especially at and above the Choice level, as here. The present lot represents a significant bidding opportunity for advanced collectors and will attract much excitement when it crosses the auction block. PCGS# 5321.