1796 Draped Bust Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 6,146 made
- Mintage
- 6,146
- Metal
- 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper
- Weight
- 6.74 g
- Diameter
- 27.5 mm
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 a 1796 Draped Bust Quarter worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1796 sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
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 1796 Draped Bust Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 6,146 were made, the lowest of any regular Draped Bust Quarter.
- Is the 1796 Draped 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 a 1796 Draped Bust Quarter?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- How many 1796 Draped Bust Quarter coins were made?
- 6,146.
What to check on your 1796
- 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.
- 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. Check the hair above Liberty's forehead, the drapery at the bust and the eagle's breast feathers. Adjustment marks from the planchet filing are normal and not damage.
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 1796
1796 was the first year of the Draped Bust Quarter. Philadelphia struck 6,146 of them. After that, Philadelphia didn't make another until 1804.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1796 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1804 (6,738) and the 1805 (121,394).
Of the 5 Draped Bust Quarters Philadelphia struck between 1796 and 1807, this is the scarcest.
The 1796 small eagle quarter and a long pause (1796 to 1803)
The first United States quarter was struck only in 1796, with a recorded mintage of 6,146. Robert Scot's draped bust of Liberty faces right and the reverse shows a small, slender eagle standing on clouds inside a wreath. No denomination appears anywhere on the coin, so the public judged it by its size and weight alone.
No quarters were made from 1797 through 1803. Silver depositors at the Mint generally chose larger coins, while Spanish two reales pieces served as quarter dollars in everyday trade. Surviving 1796 quarters are rare, yet a notable share are well preserved and some have prooflike surfaces, which suggests that a few were saved as first-year keepsakes. Many show adjustment marks, the fine file lines left when an overweight planchet was filed down before striking. Repaired, holed and cleaned examples are common, so careful inspection matters with this date.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1796
The first quarter dollars, dimes and $2.50 quarter eagles were struck in 1796, completing the denominations authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The Draped Bust design reached the cent and the smaller silver coins the same year.
How to recognize it
Liberty faces right with her hair tied by a ribbon and a drape across her bust, with LIBERTY above and the date below. The 1796 reverse shows a small eagle standing on a cloud inside a wreath and has no mark of value. From 1804 the reverse shows a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast and the value 25 C. beneath.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Draped Bust Quarter (1796–1807) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1796 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 6,146 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper |
| Weight | 6.74 grams |
| Diameter | 27.5 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1934 troy oz (6.015 g) |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
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.