Capped Bust

Former design used on United States coinage

Denominational set of the Capped Bust

1831 five-cent

1834 10-cent

1822 25-cent

1822 50-cent

The Capped Bust coinage of the United States consisted of a half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar.^[1]

History

John Reich designed this capped-head concept of Liberty, and it was modified by Chief Engraver of the Mint, William Kneass. It proved to be a popular design and lasted from 1807 to 1839 on the half dollar, 1815 to 1838 on the quarter, 1809 to 1837 on the dime, and 1829 to 1837 on the half dime.^[1] All four of these coin were struck in 89.2% silver and 10.8% copper.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

There was also a gold design created by engraver Robert Scot created in 1795, also called the Capped Bust, although it is more popularly known as the "Turban Head" because of its unusual, exotic appearance. The Turban design was used on the gold Quarter Eagle, Half Eagle, and Eagle from 1795 to 1834.^[6] On the Quarter and Half Eagles, the Turban design was replaced with the regular Capped Bust design in 1808 and 1807, respectively,^[7] while the Eagle, having been out of production since 1804, adopted the "Coronet" Liberty Head design in 1838.^[8]

The obverse of the 2008 Andrew Jackson's Liberty First Spouse coin and medal features the Capped Bust design.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b Yeoman et al. 2019, pp. 156–157, 162–164, 180–181, 212–219.
^ "1829 H10C (Regular Strike) Capped Bust Half Dime - PCGS CoinFacts". PCGS. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "1809 10C (Regular Strike) Capped Bust Dime - PCGS CoinFacts". PCGS. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "1815 25C (Regular Strike) Capped Bust Quarter - PCGS CoinFacts". PCGS. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "1807 50C Large Stars 50/20 (Regular Strike) Capped Bust Half Dollar - PCGS CoinFacts". PCGS. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "Exploring Historic US Coin Designs: Turban Head and Capped Bust". jmbullion.com. JM Bullion. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
^ Yeoman et al. 2019, pp. 265, 275–276.
^ Yeoman et al. 2019, p. 288.
^ "Andrew Jackson's Liberty First Spouse $10 Gold Coin | U.S. Mint". www.usmint.gov. Retrieved July 29, 2019.

Bibliography

Yeoman, R.S.; Bressett, Kenneth; Garrett, Jeff; Bowers, Q. David (2019). A Guide Book of United States Coins. Pelham, Alabama: Whitman Publishing.

Circulating coinage of the United States

Half cent (5₥)

Nova Constellatio^x (1783)
Liberty Cap (1793–1797)
Draped Bust (1800–1808)
Classic Head (1809–1836)
Braided Hair (1840–1857)

Large cent and
penny (1¢)

Fugio (Franklin) (1787)
Silver center^x (1792)
Chain (1793)
Wreath (1793)
Liberty Cap (1793–1796)
Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Classic Head (1808–1814)
Matron Head (1816–1839)
Braided Hair (1839–1857, 1868)
Ring^x (1850–1851, 1853, 1884–1885)
Flying Eagle (1856–1858, patterns struck in 1854–1855)
Indian Head (1859–1909, patterns struck in 1858)
Lincoln (1909–present)

Two cents (2¢)

Billon^x (1836)
Bronze (1864–1873, patterns struck in 1863)

Three cents (3¢)

Silver (1851–1873)
Bronze (Coronet Head)^x (1863)
Nickel (Liberty Head) (1865–1889)

Half dime and
nickel (5¢)

Half disme (1792)
Flowing Hair (1794–1795)
Draped Bust (1796–1797, 1800–1805)
Capped Bust (1829–1837)
Washington^x (1866; 1909–1910)
Seated Liberty (1837–1873)
Shield (1866–1883)
Liberty Head (1883–1913)
Buffalo (Indian Head) (1913–1938)
Jefferson (1938–present)

Dime (10¢)

Nova Constellatio^x (1783)
Disme^x (1792)
Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Capped Bust (1809–1837)
Seated Liberty (1837–1891)
Barber (1892–1916)
Mercury (1916–1945)
Roosevelt (1946–present)

Twenty cents (20¢)

Seated Liberty (1875–1878)

Quarter (25¢)

Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Capped Bust (1815–1838)
Seated Liberty (1838–1891)
Barber (1892–1916)
Standing Liberty (1916–1930)
Washington (eagle reverse) (1932–1998)
Washington (bicentennial) (1975–1976)
Washington (50 State) (1999–2008)
Washington (D.C. and U.S. Territories) (2009)
Washington (America the Beautiful) (2010–2021)
Washington (crossing the Delaware reverse) (2021)
Washington (American Women) (2022–2025)
Washington (Semiquincentennial) (2026)
Washington (youth sports) (2027–2030)

Half dollar (50¢)

Nova Constellatio^x (1783)
Flowing Hair (1794–1795)
Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Capped Bust (1807–1839)
Seated Liberty (1839–1891)
Barber (1892–1915)
Walking Liberty (1916–1947)
Franklin (1948–1963)
Kennedy^c (1964–present)
Kennedy (bicentennial) (1975–1976)

Dollar ($1)

Continental Currency (Fugio or Franklin)^x (1776)
Nova Constellatio^x (1783)
Flowing Hair (1794–1795)
Draped Bust (1795–1804)
Gobrecht^x (1836–1839)
Seated Liberty (1840–1873)
Trade (1873–1885)
Morgan (1878–1904; 1921; 2021–present)
Peace (1921–1935; 2021–present; patterns struck in 1964)
Eisenhower (1971–1978)
Eisenhower (bicentennial) (1975–1976)
Susan B. Anthony (1979–1981; 1999)
Sacagawea^c (2000–present)
Presidential^c (2007–2016; 2020)
American Innovation^c (2018–2032)

Gold

Gold dollar ($1)	Liberty Head (1849–1854) Indian Princess (1854–1889)
Quarter eagle ($2.50)	Draped Bust (1796–1807) Capped Bust (1808–1834) Classic Head (1834–1839) Liberty Head (1840–1907) Indian Head (1908–1929)
Three dollars ($3)	Indian Princess (1854–1889)
Half eagle ($5)	Draped Bust (1795–1807) Capped Bust (1808–1834) Classic Head (1834–1838) Liberty Head (1839–1908) Indian Head (1908–1929)
Eagle ($10)	Capped Bust (1795–1804) Liberty Head (1838–1907) Indian Head (1907–1933)
Double eagle ($20)	Liberty Head (1850–1907, pattern struck in 1849) Quintuple Stella^x (1879) Saint-Gaudens (1907–1933)

Other canceled
denominations

Two and a half cent piece (2.5¢)^x (not minted)
Two dollar piece ($2)^x (not minted)
Stella ($4)^x (1879–1880)
Half union ($50)^x (1877)
Union ($100)^x (not minted)

(italics) Obsolete
^x Canceled
(bold) Currently in production
^c Currently produced for collectors only
(bold and italics) Planned but production not commenced

v t e Coinage of the United States
Circulating	1¢ 5¢ 10¢ 25¢ 50¢ $1
Obsolete	1⁄2¢ 1¢ (large size) 2¢ 3¢ (silver) 3¢ (nickel) 5¢ (silver) 20¢ $1 (gold) $2.5 $3 $5 $10 $20
Canceled	2¢ (billon) 2+1⁄2¢ 3¢ (bronze) $2 $4 $50 $100
Commemorative	1800s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Bullion	Silver Eagle (1986–present) Gold Eagle (1986–present) Platinum Eagle (1997–present) Gold Buffalo (2006–present) First Spouse (gold) (2007–2016; 2020) Palladium Eagle (2017–present) America the Beautiful silver bullion coins (2010–2021) American Liberty high relief gold coin (2015–present)
Special sets	Proof Set (1936–present) Mint Set (1947–present) Special Mint Set (1964–1967) Souvenir Set (1972–1998) Silver Proof Set (1976, 1992–present) Prestige Set (1983–1997)