Values
A heraldic quarter eagle is the bust-right two-and-a-half with a shield eagle. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover this piece. Do not paste an auction hammer into the grade columns.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The 1796 small eagle is the other first-year reverse. The 1808 bust left is one year.
Key Dates
1796 is shared with the small eagle. 1797 through 1807 on this page are the heraldic bust-right coins. 1808 is not this portrait.
Errors
Small eagle 1796. No shield means the other page, even if stars are missing.
1808 bust left. The head faces the other way.
Capped head. 1821–1834 is a different cap and a different page.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
This page is the heraldic-eagle quarter eagle, 1796 through 1807. The small eagle, with or without stars, is the 1796 page. Star counts differ on some dates here. This page will not invent a star total for a coin that is not in hand.
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
Capped Bust right quarter eagles, heraldic eagle, 1796–1807.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
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 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
The chart is empty on purpose. The quarter eagle article does not print a year-by-year mintage table. A remembered count does not. The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for this coin.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. The weight row is the 1792 standard for a quarter eagle. No catalog page used here prints a thickness.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | 67.5 grains standard (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Composition | 11/12 gold, 1/12 alloy (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
No catalog page used for the heraldic-eagle Capped Bust quarter eagle prints a thickness. Diameter and thickness stay Not printed. The weight is the 1792 quarter-eagle standard. The 1808 bust left is the next page.
Grading
A heraldic quarter eagle wears first on the cap and on the shield.
Bust right is this page, including a 1796 coin whose reverse is the shield.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | The cap, bust facing right. | 1808 faces left and has its own page. |
| Shield | The heraldic eagle. | A small eagle is the 1796-only page. |
| Date | 1796 through 1807. | 1821 is the capped head, after a pause. |
| Surfaces | The fields. | A polished field is damage, not a proof you invent. |
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 a capped bust quarter eagle heraldic if you already know the type.
- The cap and the shield are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this capped bust quarter eagle heraldic are already slick.
- The cap and the shield are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1802 quarter eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The cap and the shield are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- 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 sits away from the cap and the shield.
- 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 cap and the shield are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The cap and the shield still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the cap and the shield. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1802 quarter eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the cap and the shield.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the cap and the shield.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the cap and the shield.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the cap and the shield.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean capped bust quarter eagle heraldic for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the cap and the shield.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this gold coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
This page is the heraldic-eagle quarter eagle with the bust facing right, 1796–1807. It is the main early quarter eagle, between the one-year small eagle and the one-year bust left. The capped head of the 1820s is later, and the Classic Head of 1834 is already published with the lighter weight.
The photograph is a 1796 quarter eagle with stars and the heraldic eagle, from the National Numismatic Collection.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
Once the quarter eagle existed, the Mint gave it the heraldic reverse used on the other gold. The type runs to 1807. The article that describes quarter eagles does not print the deliveries. This chart follows that silence.
Design
Obverse: capped bust right, stars. Reverse: heraldic eagle and shield. Two and a half dollars. No mint mark.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The quarter eagle article does not print year counts for this heraldic type.
Is 1796 always this page?
No. A 1796 with a small eagle stays on the small-eagle page, stars or no stars.
What comes after 1807?
1808 is the one-year bust left. Then quarter eagles pause until the capped head of 1821.
How much is a heraldic quarter eagle worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include this coin. An auction result is not a guide cell.
Collector Considerations
Do not put a no-stars 1796 on this page. That coin’s reverse is the small eagle. Do not call 1808 a late date of this bust.
A Final Word
The heraldic quarter eagle page is the bust-right shield coin, and the counts stay off until a table is cited.
An auction story is not a mintage.