Type 1, Large Cap

Ron Guth: The Large Cap Quarter Eagle is a rare type coin represented by a single, low mintage date. The genesis for this type was an order from Mint Director Robert Patterson for a redesign of all denominations. John Reich's redesign of the quarter eagle included turning Liberty's head so she faced left, moving the word LIBERTY from the top of the coin to Liberty's headband, and changing the "turban" to an overly large freedman's cap. The reverse featured a classic eagle design that would appear in various iterations on all $2.50, $5, and $10 gold coins from 1807 to 1907.

For some unknown reason, very few of the 1808 Large Cap Quarter Eagles were produced and the design died that year. In theory, if demand had remained for quarter eagles, this design might have been produced up until 1821, but such was not the case. The result is one of the scarcest and most desirable of all U.S. coin types.