1831
Quarter Eagle - The 1831
quarter eagle had a mintage of 4,520. Like its
Capped Head predecessors, the 1831
quarter eagle is a rarity in any condition. The
combination of low mintage and melting for bullion caused
the scarcity of these coins. However, those of this date that
are available are in mint state more than any other issue
of the series. Those pieces that are not in mint state are
usually attainable in upper circulated grades. They are usually
well struck.
Proofs are even rarer with
five or six estimated to exist.
One of the more interesting
coins of this date is a quarter eagle that is struck on a
dime planchet. Both planchet sizes were close with the dime
at 18.5 millimeters and the quarter eagle at 18.2 millimeters.
An unstruck dime planchet could have found its way into a
seam of a hopper at the Mint and later been struck by the
quarter eagle dies. The piece that exists was circulated as
a dime and shows considerable wear. It was found in a bag
of silver in north Texas. A higher grade but similar piece
was in the King Farouk collection. This piece has been listed
and delisted as a pattern. Taxay listed it as an error coin
in 1976.
