The Bust Quarter (1796-1838): A Journey Through Early American Coinage

Historically, early bust quarters are more valuable than most of them because they were made such a long time ago and, as a result, are not very easily obtained today. Made in the late 1700s and extending up through the early 1830s, these are a particularly valuable segment of American history and, as such, are in demand by coin collectors across the United States and internationally.

In general, an early bust quarter should be worn with most of the details visible to the naked eye, albeit with wearing. Not only were such coins quite rare to be preserved right from the time they were minted, but the age of these pieces alone is enough to get a century or more of hammering before they get to the present state they are found in. 

What You Will Pay for an Early Bust Quarter

Of course, anyone who is currently or possibly a collector is going to be first and foremost interested in the price that they will have to pay for one of these coins. In other words, getting an Early Bust 25-cent piece for $60 or even below is virtually impossible. Additionally, that $60 price tag will nearly always go on an item that has been well-worn for several years.

Also Read: Eight Rare Bicentennial Quarters Worth $10 Million – Six More Over $100K

As a matter of fact, the amount of money you are going to spend on it solely depends on the particular type of coin you own. The prices vary from the prices of the previous year and this is most often due to the scarcity of the particular coin. Thus, if a coin with the date 1807 is arguably scarce, the coin with the date 1808 may have thousands of pieces in circulation today. It is for this reason that a collector may be able to acquire an early bust quarter for any amount within the range of one hundred to three thousand dollars on average. That thousands-of-dollar price is mostly linked to extremely rare coins, which are, at the same time, extremely old and in very good condition.

The Most Desired Early Bust Quarter

Deciding which is the most sought-after early bust quarter is actually something that can only be best answered by each collector. However, it is universally acknowledged that collectors have the foremost interest in the coins that were created earliest. This is why the average price for an early bust produced in 1819, if graded as extremely fine, tends to be much higher than the price of a coin of the same grade but minted in 1837; the difference may reach up to $1000.

The fact that condition is an area that collectors are always very concerned with is also going to dictate which coins are popular and which ones are not. As old as they are, therefore, it means that the critique laid on the state of these quarters is considerably lighter than on those produced in the 1950s. This is only so because collectors are able to factor in the element of the fact that these quarters were being circulated and exchanged for more than 100 years more than those that were minted in the 1950s.

Early Bust Quarters Future Value

Since the value of these coins is very much dependent on their age, the fact is that the prices paid for early bust quarters are going to only rise. While buying times increase and fewer and fewer of these coins are available on the market, the price has no choice but to be driven upward. We have witnessed this with coins in the past, and to some extent, that phenomenon is happening to the early busts already.

Collectors who are considering acquiring some of these coins for their collection should do so now and there will always be fewer early busts around. Being old, the value of these coins is likely to appreciate much faster than the value of the quarters produced after the early bust.

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