Values
A reduced Capped Bust quarter’s market depends on the date, the letter size, and the grade. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass. Large-size Capped Bust quarters with motto are not this page.
A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.
Key Dates
PCGS CoinFacts and NGC named no traditional key-date list for this series in this pass. This page will not invent one.
There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. A worn common date is still worn.
Errors
These are named varieties. This page will not invent a count.
Large letters versus small letters. A variety on some dates. This chart does not invent a split when NGC printed one mintage for the year.
Large-size motto quarters. 1815–1828 with motto is a different type. NGC lists it with Early Quarters. It is not this page.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Early Quarters page. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
This page is the reduced quarter, 1831 through 1838. It does not split into a second design. Die marriages exist. This page does not list every one. The large quarter of 1815–1828 is the other page.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Reduced Capped Bust quarters were struck at Philadelphia. The counts below are the NGC Coin Explorer business-strike cells that printed a mintage in this pass.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1831 | P | 398,000 | 15348 | $100 | $300 | $4,750 |
| 1832 | P | 320,000 | 15351 | $100 | $300 | $5,000 |
| 1833 | P | 156,000 | 15352 | $100 | $350 | $5,500 |
| 1834 | P | 286,000 | 15353 | $100 | $300 | $4,750 |
| 1835 | P | 1,952,000 | 15354 | $100 | $300 | $5,000 |
| 1836 | P | 472,000 | 15355 | $100 | $275 | $5,000 |
| 1837 | P | 252,400 | 15356 | $115 | $300 | $5,450 |
| 1838 | P | 366,000 | 817032 | $100 | $250 | $5,000 |
Mintage: NGC Coin Explorer, retrieved 2026-08-23. A blank year in the prose is a year NGC did not print. These are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
NGC ID: NGC Coin Explorer listing number, retrieved 2026-08-21. A dash means this pass did not record an ID.
NGC lists this type with earlier Early Quarters. This chart is 1831–1838 only. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer.
Read the date. Look at the cheek before you argue letter size.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
This page is the reduced no-motto type. Thickness 1.75 mm is the Numista figure for that type. Large-size motto quarters are not this page.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Thickness | 1.75 mm |
| Weight | 6.74 g |
| Composition | 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | William Kneass |
Thickness 1.75 mm, weight 6.74 g, diameter 24.3 mm, and .8924 silver are the Numista reduced no-motto type page figures (N#30781). Large-size Capped Bust quarters with motto are not this page.
Grading
A reduced Capped Bust quarter wears first on Liberty’s cheek and cap, and on the eagle’s breast. Large letters versus small letters is a variety, not a grade.
This page is the 1831–1838 reduced no-motto type. Large-size Capped Bust quarters with motto are not this series.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty’s cheek and cap | The cheekbone and the lines in the cap. | Those high points flatten while the stars can still look busy. |
| Eagle’s breast | The feathers on the eagle’s chest. | The breast goes slick first. Leftover wing feathers do not save it. |
| Date | The numerals under the bust. | A worn date is a worn quarter. Do not scrape the cap to force a letter size. |
| Motto versus no motto | This type has no motto on the reverse. | Large-size motto quarters are a different type and a different page. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call the quarter if you already know it.
- The high points are gone.
- The date may be a shadow.
- Do not invent a variety at this wear.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points are already slick.
- The design is an outline.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- Look at the type before you name a variety.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The high points are flat.
- Leftover field detail does not save it.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail comes back.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to see it better.
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The type is readable.
- The high points are not crisp.
- The date should be clear.
VF
Very Fine
The design is doing real work. The high points still decide.
- Leftover detail sits away from the cheek and eagle’s breast.
- The center of the cheek and eagle’s breast is still the worn spot.
- A pretty tone does not hide a slick high point.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the same high points.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade.
- Trust the cheek and eagle’s breast.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and almost lives on the same spots.
- A trace of rub on the cheek and eagle’s breast.
- Luster may still sit in the fields.
- A bright slick high point is still rub.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster.
- No rub on the cheek and eagle’s breast.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed coin is still chewed.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the cheek and eagle’s breast.
- Fewer marks in the fields.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic.
Gem
Gem Mint State
Clean high points and fields. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the cheek and eagle’s breast.
- Marks and luster, not a romance copied onto MS-63.
- The glossary has the numbers.
Proofs are not the circulation story on this page. This page does not invent a PR price grid — NGC did not print one in the 2026-08-23 sheet used here. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations (BN, RB, RD) do not apply here. Those belong on copper coins such as the Indian Head cent. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
A reduced Capped Bust quarter is a United States twenty-five-cent silver coin with Liberty in a cap on the front and an eagle on the back. Collectors on this page mean the 1831–1838 no-motto coins. People also call it the Liberty Cap quarter. That name still points at this reduced type here.
People like them because the type still reads across a table. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped quarter looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Mint reduced the quarter in 1831 and dropped the motto. The run ends in 1838 when the Seated quarter begins. Large-size Capped Bust quarters with motto are earlier and are not this page.
This page will not invent a shop list to fill the years between.
Design
Obverse: Liberty facing left in a cap, thirteen stars, and the date. Reverse: an eagle with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and 25 C. No motto.
Look at the cheek, the eagle’s breast, and the date. Those spots go flat first.
People Also Ask
What years are reduced Capped Bust quarters?
This page is 1831 through 1838. Large-size Capped Bust quarters with motto are not this page.
How much is a Capped Bust quarter worth?
It depends on the date, the letter size, and the grade. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.
Is the large-size Capped Bust quarter on this page?
No. NGC groups Early Quarters together. This chart is the reduced no-motto type only.
Why is 1838 labeled Capped on NGC?
That is NGC’s listing name for the 1838 business strike in this pass. It is still this type.
Is the Seated quarter on this page?
No. The Seated Liberty quarter is a different series.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story.
If you inherited a box, do not scrub the date to “see it better.” Keep them in the holders they arrived in, or in cheap cardboard flips, and take the box to a person who sees this series every week. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio. This site does not invent shop names to fill a paragraph.
Raw coins are fine. So are slabs. What is not fine is a coin that has been cleaned until the fields look like glass, then offered as “original.”
If you collect by type, one honest circulated 1835 will teach you the cheek and the eagle. For a later quarter program on this site, read the Washington State quarters.
A Final Word
These coins reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the mint mark. Leave the polish under the sink.
When you want a later quarter program, the Washington State quarters are already here.