Quarter Eagle

Designer: Robert Scot

History: The first quarter eagle—the 1796 Draped Bust without stars—was designed by Chief Engraver Robert Scot. The obverse depicts Liberty facing right, wearing a soft cap, with the inscription LIBERTY above, and the date below. The cap was long thought to be a liberty or Phrygian cap, taken from an ancient Roman model. However, even Mint Director Samuel Moore identified this cap in 1825 as a fashionable headdress of the 1790s, and indeed there are portraits of Martha Washington wearing just such a hat. The coin’s reverse features a heraldic eagle—Scot’s adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States—with clouds arcing from wing to wing, enclosing stars, with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the margin.

Draped Bust quarter eagles saw production in eight years between 1796 and 1807, totaling 19,487 coins, encompassing eleven recognized varieties. More rarities are in this short-lived series than common dates. Few collectors in recent years have attempted to complete a set of these coins—most consider themselves lucky to locate a problem-free VF-AU example at a reasonable price. The With Stars issue is rarer than the No Stars variety, but it is not as widely recognized, being overshadowed by the No Stars’ significance as a one year type.