Mintage:
Circulation strikes: 102,000
Proofs: estimated 10

Designer: John Reich

Diameter: ±29 millimeters

Metal Content:
Silver - ±89%
Copper - ±11%

Weight: 104 grains (6.74 grams)

Edge: Reeded

Mintmark: None (all dates of this type were struck at Philadelphia)

Images courtesy of Superior Galleries

Varieties (4):
Browning 1 - Very Common
Browning 2 - Scarce
Browning 3 - Scarce
Browning 4 - Scarce

Significant examples:
NGC MS-65 (illustrated above).  Ex - Superior Galleries' "Pre-Long Beach Sale", October 1-3, 2000, Lot 3143, where it was described as follows: "1828 B-4 NGC MS65 Exquisite strike, luster and toning. As handsome a coin as you could imagine, one whose surface has toned medium silver-gray with pleasant blue-steel to deep sunset golden hues. Everything gleams; the whole coin is a testament to its careful preservation, as is the strike a good indication just how well this was struck by the dies. All devices sharp: stars, curls, cap and drapery with clasp; eagle's neck feathers and beak, claws, shield, and all of the legend. Don't let this gem pass you by!  Historians have described the forty years before 1834 as the silver period in United States coinage history. As a matter of fact it was a period of nondescript currency, made up of bank notes, underweight foreign gold coins, foreign silver coins of many varieties, and domestic fractional silver coins such as this 1828 Bust Quarter Dollar. Adverse conditions prevented the circulation of adequate quantities of silver as well as gold. It was not a silver period except in the sense that a mixture of foreign and domestic silver coins served inadequately as a reserve for bank note issues.  In the words of Neil Carrothers, eminent historian of fractional money in America, "Congress failed to see the simple, obvious, and immediate solution of the problem. At any time from 1792 to 1834 the application of the subsidiary coinage principle to the quarter, dime, and half-dime would have revolutionized the currency situation. The copper coins were demonstrating in a small way the possibilities of fiduciary coinage, and subsidiary coinage on a national scale. But members of Congress as a group were not familiar with monetary principles. No Director of the Mint or Secretary of the Treasury from 1792 to 1850 recommended a subsidiary coinage or indorsed the English system."

Recent appearances:
See variety listings

Notes:
The finest Uncirculated examples graded by PCGS are 3 MS-65's.

The finest Uncirculated "25/50C" example graded by PCGS is a single MS-63.

The finest Proof example graded by PCGS is a single PR-65.

Sources and/or recommended reading:
"The PCGS Population Report, July 2003" by The Professional Coin Grading Service

"John Reich Journal, January 2001", Volume 13, Issue 2, page 15