1796 to 1838 Draped Bust and Capped Bust Quarters

A Draped Bust and Capped Bust Quarter is a coin issued by the United States Mint with a denomination of 1/4th of a United States dollar or 25 cents. It is also referred to as two bits because two bits of a divided Spanish silver piece (pieces of eight) made up 1/4th of that coin. The quarter has been produced since 1796. The Draped Bust Quarter was produced from 1796 to 1807.

The Draped Bust design was succeeded by the Capped Bust quarter from 1815 to 1838 and was the design of John Reich and William Kneass. It is difficult to imagine today how seriously coinage was regarded 200 ago. Mint officials understood that once coins left the mint, they would become metallic emissaries of the our new nation.

This is why so much attention was given to detail and gold and silver coins weighing exactly what they were supposed to weigh.