The Early Quarter Dollars of the United States

No. 8

Obverse: Date wide, not equally spaced, 8 is centered under curl; stars close to border; lower left star points to second fold in drapery. Under first 1 in date the border has three points crowded close together with no spaces between.

Reverse: Ends of scroll: left under D at extreme left; right under center of A. On scroll: I not quite centered under T, a little to left; S under S at right. In the value, 25 C., 5 and C are further apart than in any other variety.

Dies Perfect: A rare variety. Proofs were made from these dies.

Broad obverse dentils; three dentils crowded below first 1.

Narrow reverse dentils; close 25 near leaf, far from C.

Browning-8; Clapp-1; Duphorne-29; included in Breen-3895; Haseltine-1.

Rarity-3.

Proofs Rarity-8.

Die States:
I. Perfect. Proofs and business strikes. Struck after the last B-9's; the obverse die was repolished to remove clash marks (see B-9, State II).
II. Crack, rim to leaf left of 2.
III. Plain clash marks both sides
IV. Clash marks either faded out or repolished away; crack of State II extends to eagle, and becomes very heavy.

The Proof pictured on Plate III, from Col. Green, may have come from Cleneay:1326 (1890); it may have reappeared as Dunham:419. Browning got it from U.S. Coin Co., 1915, at $20. Illustrated in [Breen's] Encyclopedia.

The variety is often cherrypicked in Good to VF, but it is hard to find choice. Photographic quality precludes certainty as to die states of these other alleged Uncirculateds: J.H. South:409 as "B-3a;" 1968 ANA:291 (weak); Scanlon:950; Cornell-Oglethorpe:828; "Spring," 517 (S 4/11/78).

Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr. [circa 1992]): 60+, 60+, 60, 60, 60, 58.

No.9

Obverse: The same as [Browning] 8.
Reverse: The same as [Browning] 7.
Obverse die perfect; reverse showing crack mentioned in No. 7 (from left edge through N in UNITED), much heavier and extending over on the eagle's wing. See Plate III, and compare. A rare variety. 

Broad obverse dentils; three dentils crowded below first 1.
Narrow reverse dentils; heavy crack from rim through N. (Reverse of B-7).

Browning-9; not in Clapp; Duphorne-28; included in Breen-3895; not in Haseltine.

Rarity-6

Die states: I. As described.
II. Heavy clash marks from arrows and 25 C. above cap. Plate III. I have not seen a duplicate of this. NEQ.

Auction records are extremely few. Most specimens met with are cherrypicked in low grades. The best ones known to me follow:

1. Browning, Col. Green. Plate III.
2. Allenburger:726. "EF." Not verified.
3. Leon Goodman:888 (illustrated). EF. Clash marks below ear, but not above cap. Possibly the Allenburger coin.
4. Bergen:32. Fine to VF.
5. WGC:56. VG.

That in J.H. South:421 turned out to be B-2.
Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr.): 40+, 40, 35, 25, 25, 20.