1829 $2.50 Capped Bust Quarter Eagle PCGS MS62
IN STOCK
SKU
50152401-1
Here’s a great rarity—and true beauty—for the specialist in gold capped bust coinage. The mintage of this issue was slight: 3,403. However, PCGS estimates that there are only 75 to 125 known today. Why are they so rare? Please see below to discover why. PCGS has graded 6 as MS62 with 24 finer. Collectors Universe gives this rare issue a price of $42,500.00 in MS62.
The First U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, where this rarity was struck in 1829. Image: Public domain.
Coins such as this are precious remnants of a time when most of them were sold as bullion. Why was that so? When Alexander Hamilton wrote his iconic document "Report on the Establishment of a Mint" (1791), he determined that the ratio of silver to gold should be 15:1. That ratio was written into law in the Mint Act of 1792.
However, the value of precious metals fluctuates, but the ratio of 15:1 was set in stone in that 1792 law. The ratio was changed to 16:1 in 1824, many years later. However, because of that government ratio, gold coins were undervalued from 1795 to 1834. Thus, most gold coins from those years were treated as bullion and sold overseas where they were melted for a profit. Most surviving 1829 quarter eagles are found in the grade of AU or finer, leading one to suspect they were either hoarded by collectors or stored in banks.
Early $2 1/2 Gold Quarter Eagles, 1796-1839
The Federal government, in the Act of April 2, 1792, authorized the gold $2 1/2 Quarter Eagle denomination, though the mint did not strike these coins until 1796. During these early years, the minting techniques were quite crude compared to those of later years, and designs changed frequently. In fact, there are five separate and distinct designs for those quarter eagles struck between 1796 and 1839. Within these six designs are 24+ confirmed dates and varieties of dates to collect. These include:
- 1796 Capped Bust Right, No Obverse Stars Type
- 1796-1807 Capped Bust to Right, Stars Type
- 1808 Capped Bust to Left Type
- 1821-1827 Capped Head to Left, Large Size Type
- 1829-1834 Capped Head to Left, Reduced Size Type
- 1834-1839 Classic Head Type
During the period of 1796 to 1839, the Philadelphia mint is reported to have minted a total number of only 64,262 gold Quarter Eagles, or an average of 2,677 per year authorized. Since most of these coins were intended to circulate freely, the attrition rate for all of these coins is extreme due to day-to-day commerce, collector negligence and the government recall or melting of privately held gold coinage. Most experts will agree that less than 1% of the original mintage exists in all states-of-preservation today!
Most dates within the Early Quarter Eagle series cannot be found very easily and when available, are usually at public auction. The bidder competition for these very rare coins can be fierce and it is not unusual to have new records set each time a coin appears for sale. The issues of 1796 and 1808, because they are one-year type coins, are in extreme demand from both date and type collectors. In general, most dates prior to the "classic head" type are considered rare. Of these early issues, there is not a single date with a mintage over 7,000 coins, and 5 individual dates have mintages of less than 1,000 pieces. Among the "classic head" issues, the scarcest piece is the low mintage Charlotte mint issue of 1838 which was the first branch mint quarter eagle coined.
| PCGS # | 7669 |
|---|---|
| Grading Service | PCGS |
| Year of Issue | 1829 |
| Grade | MS62 |
| Denom Type | Capped Bust $2.5 |
| Numeric Denomination | $2.50 |
| Mint Location | Philadelphia |
| Designation | NONE |
| Circ/UnCirc | Uncirculated |
| Strike Type | Business |
| Grade Add On | NONE |
| Holder Type | N/A |
