1837 Capped Bust Quarter. B-2. Rarity-1. MS-64+ (PCGS). A bright and lustrous example with satiny mint luster flowing over both sides. The surfaces are impressively smooth, as befits the assigned grade, and they are brilliant apart from blushes of iridescent reddish-gold and cobalt blue along the lower reverse border. High grade examples of the 1837 quarter, as well as the Capped Bust type as a whole, are elusive in todays market. This is one of the nicest that we have handled in recent memory and comes highly recommended for inclusion in another world class cabinet.<p>The cornerstone of the second Philadelphia Mint building on Juniper and Chestnut streets was laid on July 4, 1829, by Mint Director Samuel Moore. At around the same time, the Mint introduced several technological improvements to its processes, chief among which was the close collar (a.k.a. "collar die") which simultaneously imparted reeding to the coins edges (when desired) and gave them a uniform diameter during striking. The first coins produced using this innovation were the Capped Bust half dimes of 1829, a denomination not produced since 1805. The first chance to utilize the close collar for the quarter came in 1831, there being no examples of this denomination struck in 1829 or 1830.<p>To prepare the quarter for close collar production, Engraver William Kneass modified the existing Capped Bust design of John Reich to allow it to fit onto smaller planchets of uniform diameter. Kneass refined the portrait and eagle, removed the scroll upon which the Latin motto E PLURIBUS UNUM had been inscribed, and added a raised border around both sides. This type has since become known to numismatists as the Reduced Diameter, Reduced Size or, more informally, Small Size Capped Bust quarter. It was produced from 1831 through early 1838. The first examples produced in 1831 display small letters in the reverse legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with all subsequent deliveries displaying large letters. Browning-2 is one of the more readily obtainable die marriages of the 1837 issue, the total mintage for the year reported as 252,400 pieces. PCGS# 5356. NGC ID: 23S4. PCGS Population (all die marriages of the issue): 2; 24 finer in this category (MS-67 finest). From the George Schwenk Collection. Earlier from Legend Rare Coin Auctions Regency Auction 54, September 2022, lot 96.
