A Very Rare Quarter From The 1820s Is Worth $20,000 Or More In 2025

Coin collectors can turn even the most humble pieces of currency into true talismans of history. Similarly, these numismatic nerds can (and do) decide the future of a coin's fortune by seeing even the smallest of details as big reasons to collect certain coins. The most die-hard coin enthusiasts can spin epic tales from everything from "die error" coins with doubled die defects that can make coins potentially valuable to missing mint marks that can lead to high auction prices. Plus, they are most likely to spot ridiculously valuable details like an extra tree, a semi-exposed chest, or a surprisingly placed buffalo leg. However, some legends are born, not made.

Case in point, a very rare quarter from the 1820s that is a born legend, due to its rarity and a special error that haunts the date printed on each coin. You see, every single 1823 "capped bust" quarter is overdated — meaning one year has been printed right on top of another. This defect, along with the coin's low mintage, means the 1823/2 Capped Bust quarter has always been a rare specimen. This elite status has also given the coin an auction history that might inspire even the most casual of collectors to become special coin collecting detectives.

1823 Capped Bust quarters were designed by John Reich, a German immigrant to the U.S. In fact, Reich is responsible for introducing the Capped Bust design to U.S. coinage. All Reich capped bust coins feature the bust of Lady Liberty on their obverse (or heads) side, wearing what looks like a handkerchief with the word freedom written along it. She is actually wearing something known as a Phrygian cap, popularized as a "red cap of liberty" or liberty cap by French revolutionaries in the late 18th century.

Of course, the capped bust isn't what makes this quarter so rare and valuable, no matter how classically symbolic it is. Rather, it is the misprinted numerals just under Liberty's capped bust that makes 1823 over 2 (sometimes written 1823/2) Capped Bust quarters so sought after. In 1823, The U.S. Mint overdated the new quarter with an old die. This meant that, rather than using a freshly engraved coin die to press these 1823 coins, the "3" in each 1823 Capped Bust quarter was actually hand-stamped over the old coin die from 1822, and then minted as 1823 quarters. In 1823/2 Capped Bust quarters, the final numeral looks like a "3" with added flair because of the shadow of the "2" fighting for its historic life beneath it. This seemingly small detail is generally visible to the naked eye — if the naked eye gets the rare opportunity to see such a special quarter.

Multiple factors are at play when it comes to the value of the 1823/2 Capped Bust quarter, but rarity is chief among them. Some experts say that of the coin's already low mintage, only 1,800 of the quarters bear the overdate error. Regardless of how many coins bear the overdate, the likelihood of many such marked coins still existing in circulation is incredibly low. The specimens that do exist can bear remarkable wear and tear, meaning that finding a coin in a condition desirable to collectors paying top-dollar can be a considerable challenge.

Per coin-grading experts PCGS, just 31 of the 1823/2 regular strike coins (or coins intended for circulation, not proof coins) still exist today, with two of those 31 held in museum collections. A single proof specimen of the overdated coin is also known to exist, but has been off the public market since 2014. While the proof version of the coin last sold for $396,563, per PCGS, the regular strike prices are also quite staggering.

The highest auction price on record for a regular strike 1823/2 Capped Bust quarter, with PCGS grading, happened during a 2015 auction, where it sold for $246,750. Well-graded and authenticated editions of the coin have also sold for amounts between $32,200 and $43,125 since 2005, per PCGS' auction history for the coin.