David Akers believes that just three or four of this issue are known. An example, not fully equal to the coin shown here in terms of condition, appeared as Lot 743 in the Bowers and Ruddy Galleries sale of the Garrett Collection, March 1980. Undoubtedly the few known pieces were originally struck as presentation coins to illustrate the resumption of quarter eagle coinage after a lapse of over a decade. The 1821 Proof Capped Head Left Quarter Eagle is truly a fantastic quarter eagle: one of the foremost highlights of the any collection.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the Louis E. Eliasberg United States Gold Coin Auction, where it realized $46,200.