The Early Quarter Dollars of the United States

Quarter Dollars of 1819

Total number of pieces coins 144,000. Four varieties are known. Emission sequence: B-4, 3, 1, 2.

No. 1

Obverse: Date very wide, not equally spaced, large 9, centered under curl; lower left star points to first fold in drapery; upper right star not close to cap.

Reverse: Ends of scroll: left under space between E and D; right under center of foot of A. On scroll: I under space between A and T; S under S at left. In the value, 25 C., 2 has a flat base.

Obverse die cracked in tow places; at left near border connecting all stars except upper left; from right edge to hair, through two points of next to lower right star. Reverse die perfect in early impressions; in later pieces, cracked from left edge through right part of U to eagle's wing, the crack leaving the border from a space.

Apparently a rare variety.

Emission sequence: B-4, 3, 1, 2.
Large 9; curl begins over right side of 1.
Flat based 2 as in 1820; scroll begins between ED.
Browning-1; Clapp-3; Duphorne-31; included in Breen-3899; Haseltine-3.
Rarity-5, low.
Die States: obverse unknown perfect.
I. Crack through first six stars only; reverse perfect.
II. Crack, rim through 12th star to hair. Reverse perfect.
III. Crack, rim through right upright of U. Plate III.
IV. Crack of State II extends through hair, cheek, eye, curl, and 7th star to rim. Very rare.

Usually in low grades, Good to Fine; unknown in Mint State.
1.U.S. Coin Co., 1918, "Uncirculated," to Browning at $5, later Col. Green. Browning plate coin. State III. (Browning's inventory called it merely Large 9; but his other Large 9, which could have been B-2, was only VF.)
2. J.A. Stack Estate:15. AU.
3. Stack's 6/85: EF.
4. 1975 ANA:356. Bergen:35. EF.

Robert W. Miller, Sr. owns one 10% off-center in K-2, with a plain edge, ex Stack's Fenn (10/76):311.

Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr. [circa 1992]): 55, 55, 50, 45, 45, 25.

No. 2

Obverse: Date wide, equally spaced, large 9, not centered under curl; lower left star points to second fold in drapery; upper right star not close to cap.

Reverse: In UNITED D is low. Ends of scroll: left under D at extreme left; right under center of foot of A. On scroll: I under T at left; S centered under S. In the value, 25 C., 2 has a flat base.

Obverse die cracked in two places; at left near border connecting all stars at left and extending half way over top of cap; through lower part of date and from top of 9 up to, and connecting four lower stars at right. Reverse cracked from left edge through right part of U to eagle's wing, the crack leaving the border from a point.

A scarce variety.

Large 9; curl begins about over left edge of 9.
D low; flat based 2 as in 1820.
Browning-2; Clapp-2; Duphorne-32; included in Breen-3899; Haseltine-2.
R-3, high. Possibly Rarity-4.
Die States: Obverse unknown perfect.
I. Crack through stars 2 to 7 only. ANS.
II. Crack extends through all stars at left, and from lower right point of seventh star into field above cap. Perfect reverse.
III. Crack, rim through right upright of U to wing.
IV. Crack through 18. Rare.
V. This last crack extends through ear to R of LIBERTY.

This reverse, cracked and rusted, was resurrected about 1858 to create the 1827 restrike, B-2.

Overall population of Large 9 coins is much smaller than that of Small 9. Usually in Good to VF; difficult to find Uncirculated. Recorded specimens include:WGC:63;"Dupont" :1791, Edgar A. West:65 (S 5/25/57); Grant Pierce:602, Speir Estate sale" 10;R.T. Davis:74' Reed Hawn:268. One of these may be ex Parmelee:914, Woodin.

The variety with this obverse and B-3 reverse, claimed in Edgar Levy:10, remains unverified.

Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr. [circa 1992]): 63, 60PL, 60, 60, 60, 58+.