1821 Capped Bust Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 216,851 made
- Mintage
- 216,851
- 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 1821 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 1821 Capped Bust Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 216,851 were made, 10th lowest of the 18 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1821 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 1821 Capped Bust Quarter?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1821 are scarcer?
- The 1823 at 17,800, the 1822 at 64,080, the 1820 at 127,444, plus 2 more. So the 1821 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1821 Capped Bust Quarter coins were made?
- 216,851.
What to check on your 1821
- 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.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1821 Capped Bust Quarter Proof (15 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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 1821
Output at Philadelphia climbed to 216,851 in 1821, from 127,444 the year before. The next year it made 64,080 (1822).
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1821 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1837 (252,400) and the 1824 (168,000).
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). No Capped Bust Quarter of the 1820s had a bigger run.
Overdates and the 25/50 C. reverse (1820 to 1825)
The early 1820s are full of reused and repunched dies. The 1820 comes with a small or large 0 in the date. The 1822 includes the 25/50 C. variety, where the engraver first punched 50 C. into a quarter die and then corrected it to 25 C. The 1823/2 had a recorded mintage of just 17,800 and is a major rarity in any condition.
Mint records give 168,000 for 1824, a figure that also covers coins dated 1825. All of those 1825 quarters show the final 5 punched over an earlier digit. The 1824/2 is scarce in its own right. Half dollars took most of the silver deposited at the Mint in these years, which kept quarter output modest. Survivors are usually in Good to Fine with soft centers. Coins with full curls and sharp stars are hard to find.
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 | 1821 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 216,851 |
| 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 |
Other 1821 Capped Bust Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1821 Capped Bust Quarter | 216,851 | Circulation strike | 0.1934 oz |
| 1821 Capped Bust Quarter Proof | 15 | Proof | 0.1934 oz |
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.