1815 Capped Bust Quarter. B-1, the only known dies. Rarity-1. MS-65 (NGC).This is a particularly well preserved and attractive survivor of this popular first year 1815 Capped Bust quarter. The obverse exhibits rich peripheral toning in steel-blue and reddish-rose that yields to lighter champagne-apricot and antique silver patina in the center. For the reverse we note mottled antique silver at the lower left reverse border that interrupts otherwise dominant golden-rose and pewter-olive patina. Both sides are softly frosted with sharply rendered features and an exceptionally smooth appearance 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, with only 361,174 pieces struck. In 1796, the inaugural year of the quarter dollar, just 6,146 pieces filled the Mints 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. Much of the 1815 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 in 1815 and requested only quarter dollars in return. The new quarter dollars depicted assistant engraver John Reichs 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# 38942. NGC ID: 23RG.
