The GFRC Open Set Registry Community Project

Capped Bust Quarters - Ultimate Set

A Capped Bust Quarters Ultimate Set is no easy task as it is 73 coins. It includes an R7 and a smattering of R1s. The reference book used to attribute them Early Quarters of the United States Mint 1796-1838 by Rory R. Rea, Dr. Glenn Peterson, Bradley S. Karoleff and John J. Kovach Jr. It was published in 2010 by Rory Rea and is still available. Their 388 page book is in stunning color, it gives a very pleasing picture of every variety obverse and reverse and many times that for rarer die marriages. This book covers earlier quarters too, but this is beyond the scope of Capped Bust Quarters. The authors describe E & L counterstamps, errors, counterfeits and love tokens. Their quick finding charts are very helpful in determining the correct variety number for any date and include the R code for all varieties of one year on a single page. Among those who contributed to this book are well known names too - Russ Logan, John W. McCloskey, Jules Reiver and Steve Tompkins. A special mention is made to Kirk Gorman who may coauthor a new book on bust dimes in the future. Although I have a 1981 reprint of Ard W. Browning's 1925 book on The Early Quarter Dollars of the United States, I feel that it takes special skill and determination to attribute quarters with this document.

Capped Bust Quarters came in two sizes - large size and small size. The small size started in 1831 with a "smaller thicker planchet, raised border and new portrait." The small size is the identical diameter still in use today. The John Reich design was used as the Mint resumed coining quarters after a hiatus of 8 years. Apparently, the need for U.S. quarters is mitigated by the availability of Spanish Colonial 2 Real pieces from the Mexican, Central and South American Mints with this denomination arriving from Mexico, Central and South American mints - particularly through New Orleans and the eastern seaboard. Assuredly the Bust quarters carry with them quite a story.

- John Okerson

Rating: The weighted average of all coin grades (i.e. aggregated sum of each coin grade + CAC premium multiplied by its rarity factor divided by the sum of all rarity factors). Missing coins are included and assigned a grade of 0. This metric is the basis for order rank.

Complete: The number of coin entries divided by the total number of coins in the Set.

Weighted Grade: The weighted average of all coin grades (see calculation above), but excluding any missing coins.

%: The ratio of coins certified by CAC (either green or gold sticker). Calculated as the number of CAC coins divided by the total number of entered coins.

Rarity Factor: The rarity assessment for each date/variety uses the Sheldon scale of R1 through R8 with a R1 weight being the most common while an R8 weight being the most difficult to locate. Rarity estimates are by John Okerson.