1838 Capped Bust Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 366,000 made
- Mintage
- 366,000
- 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 1838 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 1838 Capped Bust Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 366,000 were made, 15th lowest of the 18 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1838 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 1838 Capped Bust Quarter?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1838 are scarcer?
- The 1833 at 156,000, the 1837 at 252,400, the 1834 at 286,000. So the 1838 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1838 Capped Bust Quarter coins were made?
- 366,000.
What to check on your 1838
- 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 1838 Capped Bust Quarter Proof (3 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 1838
Output at Philadelphia climbed to 366,000 in 1838, from 252,400 the year before. It was also the last year of the series.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1838 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1818 (361,174) and the 1831 (398,000).
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). Within the 1830s it's 5th smallest of 8, between the 1832 (320,000) and the 1831 (398,000).
Smaller quarters from a close collar (1831 to 1838)
In 1831 William Kneass reworked Reich's design for striking in a close collar, cutting the diameter to about 24.3 mm and dropping the scroll with E PLURIBUS UNUM from the reverse. The close collar gave every coin a uniform size and a beaded border in place of the old denticles. The 1831 comes in small letter and large letter reverses.
Output climbed to 1,952,000 in 1835, the largest of the type. The 1833 and 1834 include an O over F error in the word OF on the reverse. The Act of January 18, 1837 changed the standard to 90 percent silver with a weight of 6.68 grams, though the coins look the same. In 1838 the Seated Liberty quarter replaced this design partway through the year. Small-size quarters are the easiest Capped Bust quarters to find in Very Fine and better grades.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1838
Three branch mints opened in 1838: New Orleans, Louisiana and the gold-only mints at Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia. The Liberty Seated design reached the quarter.
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 | 1838 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 366,000 |
| 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 1838 Capped Bust Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1838 Capped Bust Quarter | 366,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1934 oz |
| 1838 Capped Bust Quarter Proof | 3 | 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.