Draped Bust Quarter
The first quarter minted in the newly formed United States was minted in 1796 just for years after it was authorized by the Mint Act of 1792. The history of this “first quarter” is almost as interesting as the quarter itself.
The Original design for the Draped Bust quarter was originally drawn by artist Gilbert Stuart who it is believed used Ann Willing Bingham considered a buxom beauty at the time as a model. However the actual making of the die for this coin was left in the hands of Robert Scot who was hired by the Mint to be an engraver knowing nothing about how to make a die. His lack of knowledge ended up turning Stuarts beautiful drawing into a rather bland semblance of the original design.
Front of the 1796 Draped Bust Quarter
The front of the 1776 Draped Bust Quarter show the portrait of Liberty facing the right with flowing hair and a ribbon tied loosely in the hair. At the top of the coin the word LIBERTY appears with 15 stars (showing the number of states at time) lining the right and left side of the coin and the date at the bottom of the coin.
Reverse Side of the 1796 Draped Bust Quarter
The Reverse side of the 1796 Draped bust quarter features a small eagle with wings spread on a cloud with a wreath of olive and palm branches. The words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircle the wreath.
This particular quarter design was only minted one year in 1796 but there are two version of this quarter, one with a low 6 in the date and one with a high 6 in the date. There was only 6,146 of these coins minted so both versions of this coin are consider to be rare with the quarter displaying the lower 6 in the date being the rarest.
Due to the lack of need for a coin of this high of denomination the Draped Bust Quarter wasn’t minted again until 1804 and when it appeared it appeared with some modification in its design.
Front of the 1804 Draped Bust Quarter
The front of the 1804 Draped bust quarter remained almost the same as the 1796 version with the only change being in the number of stars, which was reduced from 15 to 13 to represent the 13 original colonies. These stars are still divided between the left and right of Liberty, with 7 stars appearing on the left and 6 stars appearing on the left.
Reverse Side of the 1804 Drape Bust Quarter
While the front side of the 1804 draped bust quarter remained almost the same as the 1796 version, the reverse side of the 1804 quarter underwent quite a change. The small eagle was replaced by a hearldic eagle with a shield at his chest. In his left claw he holds arrows and in his right he holds an olive branch. The words E PLURIBUS UNUM spans from wing to wing across the front of the eagle and above the eagle’s head is a line of linked clouds. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs in an arch from the left side to the right side of the coin. At the bottom left by the eagle’s tail is a 25 and on the right side of the tail is a C.
Both versions of this quarter are considered rare and sought after by collectors.