2 1/2 Dollars 'Capped Bust to Right - Quarter Eagle'

Congress authorized quarter eagle production in the Mint Act of 1792, but the denomination sat dormant for four years while the young mint struggled to establish gold coinage at all. When striking finally began in 1796, total output was negligible — just 963 pieces that first year. The entire run across the type's eleven-year life never exceeded roughly 20,000 coins, with several years seeing fewer than a thousand struck.

Much of the mintage went directly into private hands or export rather than domestic circulation, a chronic problem the early Mint never solved. The 1796 no-stars variety and the 1798 with 13-star reverse are among the most scrutinized die marriages in early American gold numismatics.