1818 Capped Bust Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 361,174 made
- Mintage
- 361,174
- Metal
- 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper
- Weight
- 6.74 g
- Diameter
- 27 mm (1815–1828); 24.3 mm (1831–1838)
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1818 Capped Bust Quarter worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1818 Capped Bust Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 361,174 were made, 14th lowest of the 18 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1818 Capped Bust Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper and holds 0.1934 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1818 Capped Bust Quarter?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1818 are scarcer?
- The 1823 at 17,800, the 1822 at 64,080, the 1815 at 89,235, plus 3 more. So the 1818 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1818 Capped Bust Quarter coins were made?
- 361,174.
What to check on your 1818
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Wear first appears on the curls near the ear, the cap and the eagle's wings. The word LIBERTY on the headband should be clear in Fine.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1818
Philadelphia hadn't struck the Capped Bust Quarter since 1815. When it came back in 1818, it made 361,174. The next year it made 144,000 (1819).
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1818 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1838 (366,000) and the 1831 (398,000).
Philadelphia struck the Capped Bust Quarter in 18 issues between 1815 and 1838. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1827 (4,000).
John Reich's large quarter arrives (1815 to 1819)
After seven years without quarters, the Mint struck 89,235 of John Reich's Capped Bust design in 1815. Liberty wears a cloth cap with a band reading LIBERTY. The reverse eagle carries E PLURIBUS UNUM on a scroll above it with 25 C. below. No quarters are dated 1816 or 1817, since a fire at the Mint in January 1816 disrupted silver coinage and quarters were slow to return.
Some 1815 quarters carry a small E or L punched above Liberty's head. The same marks appear on certain 1825 quarters and their purpose has never been settled. The 1818 run of 361,174 was the largest of these years and includes an 1818/5 overdate made from a reworked 1815 die. Quarters of this era were struck without a close collar, so diameters vary slightly and many coins show weakness at the stars and the eagle's claws.
How to recognize it
Liberty faces left wearing a cloth cap with a band inscribed LIBERTY, surrounded by 13 stars with the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with a shield on its breast and the value 25 C. below. Early coins are larger and carry E PLURIBUS UNUM on a scroll; in 1831 the coin was made smaller on new close-collar presses and the motto was removed.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Capped Bust Quarter (1815–1838) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1818 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 361,174 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper |
| Weight | 6.74 grams |
| Diameter | 27 mm (1815–1828); 24.3 mm (1831–1838) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1934 troy oz (6.015 g) |
| Designer | John Reich; reduced-size version by William Kneass |
Mintage: United States quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.