Quarter Eagles|Draped Bust $2.50 (1796-1807)

Turban Head or Capped Bust to Right (1796 – 1807)

The Turban Head or Capped Bust to Right quarter eagles, designed by Chief Engraver Robert Scot, were minted from 1796 to 1807. None were minted from 1799 to 1801, or 1803. All of the coins in this series are rare with the highest mintage of 6,812 in 1807. Except for the stars, they have the same basic design.

The obverse shows a bust of a female Liberty in profile facing right with the date below and slightly to the left. The source of Scot’s obverse design is probably a Roman engraving that copied a Greek goddess. She wears a large, loose fitting cap, and some of her hair sweeps up and around the cap, making it seem like a turban. The cap itself is not a Phrygian cap, which was emblematic of freedom. It was a close fitting cap worn by freed slaves in ancient times to cover their shorn heads. Slaves were not permitted to grow their hair. So the cap used to cover these heads became associated with freedom. However, when he was asked about it, Thomas Jefferson said that the Phrygian cap was not an appropriate symbol of freedom for the United States of America because we were never slaves. Nonetheless, it persisted as a symbol in American coinage perhaps because of its use in France and elsewhere in Europe.

The reverse of the quarter eagle has a heraldic eagle with its head turned to the left. Its wings are raised and a banner is seen in front of the right wing, across the neck and ending under the left wing. It is inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM. Around and above the eagle’s head is an arrangement of stars. Above that is a chain of six clouds. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, interrupted by the wing tips, is around the periphery of the coin.

This reverse design was taken from the Great Seal of the United States. In what some have called colossal design blunder, Robert Scot placed the arrows in the wrong talon. On the left side, the eagle’s right talon, arrows symbolize aggressive militarism. They should have been placed in the left talon with the olive branch in the right. If this rearrangement was unintentional, it shows a new, inexperienced country that can’t even get its symbolism correct. If this was a deliberate rearrangement, it shows a young country taking an aggressive stance during a time of conflict. From 1798 to 1800 the country was engaged with France in an undeclared naval war. Perhaps this symbolism was being used to make a statement to France and others about the sovereignty of the United States.

These coins have no denomination-- something that might appear as a sign of ineptitude on the part of early Mint employees to someone familiar with United States coinage of the 21st century. The omission was intentional, however, as United States coinage was new to the world market of the 18th century and the term “Quarter Eagle” or “Two and One-half Dollars” would have been unfamiliar to merchants of the day. Like European coinage of the time, silver and gold pieces were valued by their weight and fineness so the denomination was largely irrelevant.