478

***Auction Highlight*** 1831 Browning-4 SL Capped Bust Quarter 25c Graded Select AU By USCG (fc)

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:482.50 - 965.00 USD
***Auction Highlight*** 1831 Browning-4 SL Capped Bust Quarter 25c Graded Select AU By USCG (fc)
***Auction Highlight*** 1831 Browning-4 SL Capped Bust Quarter 25c Graded Select AU By USCG. The cornerstone of the second Philadelphia Mint building on Juniper and Chestnut streets was laid on July 4, 1829, by Mint Director Samuel Moore. At around the same time, the Mint introduced several technological improvements to its processes, chief among which was the close collar (a.k.a. "collar die") which simultaneously imparted reeding to the coins' edges (when desired) and gave them a uniform diameter during striking. The first coins produced using this innovation were the Capped Bust half dimes of 1829, a denomination not produced since 1805. The first chance to utilize the close collar for the quarter came in 1831, there being no examples of this denomination struck in 1829 or 1830. To prepare the quarter for close collar production, Chief Engraver William Kneass modified the existing Capped Bust design of John Reich to allow it to fit onto smaller planchets of uniform diameter. Kneass refined the portrait and eagle, removed the scroll upon which the Latin motto E PLURIBUS UNUM had been inscribed, and added a raised border around both sides. This type has since become known to numismatists as the Reduced Diameter, Reduced Size or, more informally, Small Size Capped Bust quarter. It was produced from 1831 through early 1838. The first examples produced in 1831 display small letters in the reverse legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with all subsequent deliveries displaying large letters. The more frequently encountered die marriages of the 1831 are extremely popular with type collectors, especially those of the one year Small Letters design. A Corey's Pick, Bid to Win Coin