1823/2 Capped Bust Quarter. B-1, the only known dies. Rarity-6-. AU-50 (NGC). The 1823/2 quarter is a phenomenal rarity in any grade, and this example is among the finest known. The surfaces are richly and originally toned in dominant pinkish-gray that gives way to bolder olive-russet in the protected areas along the borders and around many of the design elements. There are also lovely iridescent undertones of reddish-gold, champagne-pink, silver-lilac and powder blue. Some lightness of impression on peripheral devices such as the stars and motto is noted, but the central detail is sufficiently sharp for the assigned grade. A few ancient scratches over the left half of the reverse on and near the eagle are useful for provenance purposes. Both sides otherwise are pleasingly smooth for having seen limited commercial use.<p>Few American rarities have been so lovingly documented as the 1823/2 quarter, so carefully studied for provenance and technical nuance, and so appreciatively collected by those able to purchase one. The rarity of this date was already legendary by the time Montroville W. Dickeson wrote his 1859 <em>American Numismatical Manual</em>, where he pronounced this date "extremely rare." In 1883, Harold P. Newlin posited that the four rarest U.S. silver coins were the 1802 half dime, the quarters of 1823 (all of which are 1823/2) and 1827, and the 1804 dollar, helping to contextualize the truly elusive nature of this issue.<p>Dickeson, Newlin, and their contemporaries did not understand that reported mintage figures may have reflected the year the coins were delivered, but not necessarily the dates on the dies that were used to make them. The Dickeson <em>Manual</em> gave a mintage figure of 17,800 coins, which encompasses all coins delivered in the 1823 calendar year. Today, considering the rarity of this date, most scholars presume that almost the entire delivered mintage of 1823 was actually dated 1822.<p>Thirty-one discrete specimens have been documented, and a few more are assumed to exist in old-time collections or unexamined institutional holdings, yielding about 35. The Smithsonian Institution and the Durham Western Heritage Museum in Omaha both own well worn specimens. More than half of the known survivors are in grades below Very Fine, most quite worn, a few damaged, even one famously repaired to remove graffiti.<p>It is difficult to overstate the significance of the present coin. It is ranked as CC#5 in the exhaustive 2010 census by Rory Rea, et al., and published in their reference <em>Early Quarter Dollars of the United States Mint: 1796-1838</em>. Cataloged as "AU-50, prooflike" in our (Bowers and Merenas) April 1997 sale of the Eliasberg Collection, and since certified AU-50 by NGC, it is undoubtedly among the finest obtainable for this legendary key date Capped Bust quarter issue. The Newcomer-Miles-Hawn specimen sits atop the census, and has been certified Proof-64 by PCGS, while the only Mint State example certified is the Gardner specimen in NGC MS-61. An exciting and important offering for advanced numismatists that is sure to see spirited competition.<p> From the Lincoln Square Collection. Earlier ex F.C.C. Boyd; Numismatic Gallerys sale of the "Worlds Greatest Collection" (Boyd), March 1945, lot 82; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, April 1997, lot 1386; unknown; Denis Loring, August 2007.
