QUARTER
EAGLES - TURBAN HEAD QUARTER EAGLES (1796 - 1807)
Quarter Eagles - The two
hundred and fifty cents or two dollars and fifty cents coin
is called the quarter eagle. It derives its name from the
ten dollar eagle coin. The first issue was designed by Robert
Scot and struck at the mint in Philadelphia in 1796 and
branch mints in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1838 to 1859
(not inclusive); New Orleans, Louisiana from 1838 to 1857;
Dahlonega, Georgia from 1839 to 1859; and later in San Francisco
from 1854 to 1879 and Denver 1911 to 1925. At first it weighed
67.5 grains and had a fineness of .9167. In June 1834, the
weight and fineness were changed to 64.5 grains and .8992;
however, the Act of January 18, 1837 changed the fineness
to .900. Before 1834 few coins were struck. They are rare
today because of their low mintage numbers and high melting
for bullion because of their higher gold content. With the
removal of the United States from the gold standard, the
denomination was officially discontinued in 1933, but the
last coin had been issued in 1929.
The designs and designers of the
coins are as follows:
Turban Head or Capped
Bust to Right (1796 – 1807) – Robert Scot
Draped Bust or Capped
Bust to Left, Large Size (1808) – John Reich
Capped Head or Capped
Head to Left (1821 – 1834) – Robert Scot,
William Kneass
Classic Head or Classic
Head No Motto on Reverse (1834 – 1839) – William
Kneass
Liberty Head or Liberty
Head Coronet (1840 – 1907) – Christian Gobrecht
Indian Head (1908 –
1915, 1925 – 1929) – Bela Lyon Pratt
Turban Head or Capped Bust to
Right (1796 – 1807)
The Turban Head or Capped Bust to Right quarter eagles,
designed by Chief Engraver Robert Scot, were minted from
1796 to 1807. None were minted from 1799 to 1801, or 1803.
All of the coins in this series are rare with the highest
mintage of 6,812 in 1807. Except for the stars, they have
the same basic design.
The obverse shows a bust of a female Liberty
in profile facing right with the date below and slightly
to the left. The source of Scot’s obverse design is
probably a Roman engraving that copied a Greek goddess.
She wears a large, loose fitting cap, and some of her hair
sweeps up and around the cap, making it seem like a turban.
The cap itself is not a Phrygian cap, which was emblematic
of freedom. It was a close fitting cap worn by freed slaves
in ancient times to cover their shorn heads. Slaves were
not permitted to grow their hair. So the cap used to cover
these heads became associated with freedom. However, when
he was asked about it, Thomas Jefferson said that the Phrygian
cap was not an appropriate symbol of freedom for the United
States of America because we were never slaves. Nonetheless,
it persisted as a symbol in American coinage perhaps because
of its use in France and elsewhere in Europe.
The reverse of the quarter eagle has a
heraldic eagle with its head turned to the left. Its wings
are raised and a banner is seen in front of the right wing,
across the neck and ending under the left wing. It is inscribed
E PLURIBUS UNUM. Around and above the eagle’s head
is an arrangement of stars. Above that is a chain of six
clouds. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, interrupted
by the wing tips, is around the periphery of the coin.
This reverse design was taken from the
Great Seal of the United States. In what some have called
colossal design blunder, Robert Scot placed the arrows in
the wrong talon. On the left side, the eagle’s right
talon, arrows symbolize aggressive militarism. They should
have been placed in the left talon with the olive branch
in the right. If this rearrangement was unintentional, it
shows a new, inexperienced country that can’t even
get its symbolism correct. If this was a deliberate rearrangement,
it shows a young country taking an aggressive stance during
a time of conflict. From 1798 to 1800 the country was engaged
with France in an undeclared naval war. Perhaps this symbolism
was being used to make a statement to France and others
about the sovereignty of the United States.
These coins have no denomination--
something that might appear as a sign of ineptitude on the
part of early Mint employees to someone familiar with United
States coinage of the 21st century. The omission was intentional,
however, as United States coinage was new to the world market
of the 18th century and the term “Quarter Eagle”
or “Two and One-half Dollars” would have been
unfamiliar to merchants of the day. Like European coinage
of the time, silver and gold pieces were valued by their
weight and fineness so the denomination was largely irrelevant.
Found with Close
and Wide Date. Less than 40 Close Dates known. Wide Date
has 8 embedded in bust. Reverse die used for dimes of
1798 to 1800. Prohibitively rare in Mint State.
