My first Capped Bust Quarter

[MikeKing]

I thought this would be a good one to post.

While I was at the CoinFest, in Greenwich CT, I had a nice chat with Greg Cohen of Smythe, about original coins, and he pointed out to me a 25C piece that was in an upcoming Smythe auction. I didn't see it in person, just the photo in their catalogue, but the verbal description was exactly what I was looking for in a capped bust quarter.

 

It arrived today and I took some photos of it RAW. It's pretty dirty, and there's some heavier dirt just before the nose of the Bust that I'd love to just brush away, but am afraid I'd just put hairlines in its place.

 

It's a large size Browning 8, and its giving me the incentive to climb up the stairs to my attic and retrieve my Browning book which is buried up there somewhere.

 

Just a neat note on how this quarter compares to what we currently have:

The 1818 Capped Bust quarter had a mintage of 361 thousand, with a silver content of 89% (Copper 11%)

Weight 6.74 grams

Diameter 29 mm

 

Whereas, our current quarter is 100% copper clad with 75% copper 25% nickel, no silver whatsoever

Weight 5.7 grams

Diameter 24.3 mm

and a mintage of over 960 MILLION

 

The only thing they've really got in common is that they both have reeded edges, which surprised me, since I know nothing about Capped Bust Quarters (my book is in the attic...remember?) so if anyone can shed light on the minting of the quarter, I'd appreciate knowing about it.

 

The coin is quite lovely, if you like original pieces. It's a bit dirty, but has a lovely brown color, and if you shine a light on it, and look thru this heavy patination, you can see nicely reflective surfaces with a rose/gold brown coloration. The fields have no distracting marks and are pretty much consistent within an AU grade, without hairlines or evidence of a prior wipe of any sort. It looks fully struck to me, though with some weakness in the dentils of the left obverse, and stars 4 and 5. Not familiar with these coins, I don't know what would be typical for this year.

 

 

 

[Cladiator]

What an absolutely FANTASTIC coin!!!!!!!

 

 

there's some heavier dirt just before the nose of the Bust that I'd love to just brush away

Please, please do not mess with the surfaces of that coin in any way, it's PERFECT just the way it is.

[MunkyMan95]

Wow. That's as original as original can get. Beautiful coin Mike!

[Mozin]

Mike,

 

You have a very nice looking 1818 CBQ. It certainly looks to be a solid AU for details. I think I would soak it in acetone for quite awhile to see if any dirt will float off. I have never cleaned a coin, so I would be hesitant to do anything else.

 

The pictures you show do not really look too dark. The B-8 is R3. Proofs were made from this die pair. DS II has a crack, from rim to leaf left of 2.

[bsshog40]

Nice looking CBQ there Mike. I agree with others as leave it as is. Here is a

link from the coin community which someone had posted some history on these. Nice MIke!!!

[MikeInFL]

Gorgeous! Reminds me of a certain group of half dollars.

[Dwaine]

a fantastic coin. keep it as it is.

[MBA101]

That is what it's all about!

[physics-fan3.14]

As BillJones has said, the crusty thing can get carried away a little too far sometimes. In my opinion, this is one of those times. While I understand why people would like this, I'm just not really a fan.

[construct]

It's a beautiful coin just as it is. The obverse weakness you note may be from slightly misaligned dies. Notice the fin on the outside rim opposite the weak area. The die may have been aligned closer to the planchet on that side so that the strike was slightly harder there than on the weak side.

[RI AL]

I have to agree with most of the other replies on this thread. I like my coins to be as natural as possible, though some cleaned ones have squeaked through. The coin in question here is just beautiful. I don't quite see the appeal in making it look any different than it is. It would be a STAR in my collection. Enjoy its original beauty and don't mess with it.

 

Just curious about acetone....what exactly does it do? Is it one of the processes that NCS uses?

 

RI AL

[123cents]

Beautiful capped bust quarter!

[jesbroken]

Mike King, you have made a great choice for the first CBQ you have owned. It is a Browning 8 and the dies for this coin, both obverse and reverse, were perfectly made with no flaws-they were also used for proofs. For sure dig out your Browning book as it is one of the best references for a series of coins I have ever owned-to include Overton's or Breen's books. Absolutely beautiful coins. I would have loved to have held that coin nearly 200 years ago as it would have been as near a perfectly struck CBQ that was ever released. Congratulations Mike. I hope someday to be able to see that coin in person.

[Mozin]

...

 

Just curious about acetone....what exactly does it do? Is it one of the processes that NCS uses?

 

RI AL

 

An acetone bath is the way to dissolve PVC and other oils, so they float off the coin. Acetone does absolutely nothing to the metal in the coin. Natural toning is not affected. Sometimes ordinary dirt just comes right off the coin, sometimes it takes a day or so. I always bath my coins in acetone.

 

I expect NCS routinely uses acetone.

[RI AL]

Thanks, Mozin. I would like to give it a try with a few junkers I have kicking around. If I'm successful, some better foreign would benefit from a dip. We'll see what happens.

 

Appreciate the info!

 

RI AL

[WinstonWare]

What an absolutely FANTASTIC coin!!!!!!!

 

 

there's some heavier dirt just before the nose of the Bust that I'd love to just brush away

Please, please do not mess with the surfaces of that coin in any way, it's PERFECT just the way it is.

 

Agree! Nice coin Mike!

[GAB]

Very Nice detail for a CBQ of ANY date. They are not easy to find with this much

detail - and this well kept. I don't see any reason to mess with it - based on the images.

 

[rexcat]

Oh ya! That's a keeper, very nice old quarter which is a lot harder to find than a half from the same era. (thumbs u

[TomB]

This is an absolutely spectacular coin that cannot be improved upon with any "work". The weak dentils would make me think it was struck from slightly misaligned dies, but the weak stars at positions 4 and 5 might also be from improper metal flow since they are directly opposite the leaves. In my opinion, this series is vastly underappreciated and finding anything with an acceptable combination of remaining meat and originality is tough. Please let me repeat that this is a superb coin!

[SkyMan]

Nice looking coin. (thumbs u