1834 Capped Head Quarter Eagle, A Classic Rarity
By Doug Winter - www.raregoldcoins.com
When you list the great rarities in the quarter eagle denomination, there are issues that everyone knows about. The 1796 No Stars and With Stars, the 1804 13 Stars, the 1841, the 1854-S and the 1863 are famous coins that are well-regarded outside of the specialist community. But there is one issue that is every bit as rare as the ones that I mentioned above although its fame is not as widespread. This is the 1834 With Motto and it’s the subject of a brief look in today’s blog. (NOTE: throughout this article the terms With Motto and Capped Head are used interchangeably for this variety. Both terms are numismatically correct).
The background of this issue is very interesting. As the Mint was preparing to strike gold coins in 1834, the price of this metal was rising quickly. By the time the quarter eagles were ready to be released into circulation, they had an intrinsic value of $2.66. This, obviously, meant that any pieces that were released would be melted by speculators or bullion dealers. As a remedy, the Mint passed the Act of June 28, 1834 which lowered the weight of this denomination by nineteen grams as well as the quality of the gold used from .916 fine to .899 fine.
Of the 4,000 quarter eagles struck in 1834 with the old Capped Head design, only a small number escaped the melting pot. Estimates of survivors range from a low of twelve to fifteen (Breen and Akers) to a high of twenty to twenty-four (Dannreuther). Given the (un)availability of this issue over the past decade, my personal feeling is that Dannreuther’s estimate is too high and that the total known is somewhere in the area of fifteen to eighteen. This includes at least two that are impounded in museum collections (Smithsonian and ANA/Bass) plus two that are impaired or damaged. (more…)

WASHINGTON - The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Plaza was the backdrop today for the unveiling, by United States Mint Director Ed Moy, of four new designs for the circulating 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coins. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Co-Chairman Harold Holzer joined Director Moy for the unveiling.
Virginia Beach, VA. The graders at 

















