The Early Quarter Dollars of the United States

No. 7

Obverse: The same as [Browning] 6.

Reverse: In the value, 25 C., C is about half as far from eagle's tail as the arrows; eagle's tail long and tapering; end of olive branch touches top of C, slightly at right of the center of this letter; in the wing at right, foot of A touches side of third feather near the end, and is over end of fourth feather, but far from it.

RT extremely close, T lower.

Branch touches center of top of C.

Browning-7; Clapp-5; Duphorne-15; included in B-3888; Haseltine-5

Rarity-4. Possibly Rarity-5.

Die States:
I. Slight crack to left from top of L.
II. Reverse cracks: rim through right upright of N; eagle's head vertically to cloud; and in an arc from a leaf to right edge of shield, just past M of motto, to rightmost cloud.

Usually in low grades; apparently unknown choice.

The best one seen is the Browning, Col. Green coin. Auction records are very few; usually this variety is cherrypicked and turns out to be in Very Good or similar condition. WGC:23 was graded Very Good.

Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr. [circa 1992]): 50, 40, 35, 20, 20, 12.

No. 8

Obverse: The same as [Browning] 6 and 7.

Reverse: In the value, 25 C., C almost touches eagle's tail, which is medium in length, and appears as though C had crowded the feathers to one side. Plate II, shows C in actual contact with the feathers, but the coin shows that it is not. End of olive branch touches top of C at extreme right; inverted A in AMERICA is close to C, but does not touch it. Under and touching C at left, is engraved a triangular object which appears like the left foot of a letter A; in the wing at right, foot of A is near side of third, and over end of fourth feather, but does not touch either.

RT extremely close, T lower.

C is corrected from erroneous A, and crowds tail feathers to left. Branch touches tip of C.

Browning-8; not in Clapp; Duphorne-16; B-3889 (C corrected from A); not in Haseltine.

Rarity-6. High.

In NEQ this was listed as Rarity-3 by typographical error (Rarity-5 was meant). Too few have turned up since then to sustain the impression of Rarity-5. Usually in low grades.

The following are all the auction records known to me of this variety:

1. J. H. South:389. Very Fine, slightly bolder obverse than the coin pictured on Plate II.
2. Boyd, WGC:24. Very Fine. Not illustrated; is this the Browning Plate coin?
3. Philip G. Strauss: 1688 (May 1959), C.R. VG+.
4. Winter Collection. Strong VG. Cherrypicked at the1976 ANA Convention.
5. Bergen:15. Fair.

Others have been cherrypicked in low grades; Jack Beymer showed me one at a convention (1981); another has a rim cud covering tops of U and bases of 25.

Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr.): 30+, 30, 25, 12, 10, 6.