The Early Quarter Dollars of the United States

Quarter Dollar of 1805

Obverse: 5 in date touches the bust; lower left star and small curl at extreme left spaced slightly wider apart than opposite star and drapery; upper left star and bottom of L spaced slightly wider apart than opposite star and top of Y.

Reverse: The same as 1804.

A very rare variety.

Open 5; D touches wing, short stem (reverse of 1804).

Browning-1; Clapp-2; Duphorne-5; included in Breen-3884 (5 berries varieties); Haseltine-2.

Rarity-6.

A single coin of this date (which dies?) is reported with Masonic square and compasses counterstamp.

The following are the best ones I have located:

1. Chicago estate, NN 54:1102, H. Tobias, probably same as Bowers & Merena 6/90. Uncirculated.
2. Bergen:5. EF, reverse scratch.
3. 1980 FUN:641 (NERCA 1/9-11/80.) "VF-30." light rim nick, cleaned.
4. Haseltine Type Table:1302, R. Coulton Davis, Davis-Graves:317, Winter:1324. VF+.
5. 1982 FUN:486 (NERCA 1/7/82). Fine plus." Not illustrated.
6. Kriesberg/Cohen 9/10-12/73:660. Fine.
7. Boyd, WGC:8. VG. Possibly same as next.
8. Col. Green. Plate I.
Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr.): 63+, 62, 60, 58, 30, 30.

No. 2

Obverse: 5 in date touches the bust; lower left star and curl spaced twice as far apart as opposite star and drapery; upper left star and bottom of L and opposite star and top of Y about equally spaced.

Reverse: In the value, 25 C., C just touches eagle's tail, which is long and tapering; end of olive branch is connected with C at extreme right; in eagle's wing at right, foot of A touches side of second and rests on end of third feather; over E in STATES the border has a very wide space.

Both dies free from cracks, but on the obverse R in LIBERTY is weak at right. A rare variety.

In the obverses of [Browning] 3 and 4, foot of 1 in date and T in LIBERTY are defective at left; also foot of I is defective at right.

Compact italic 5 slants left, too close to O; weak R.

C touches tail; 5 berries; A on second and third feathers as in 1804. Gap between dentils above E in STATES.

Browning-2; Clapp-1; Duphorne-6; included in Breen-3884; Haseltine-1.

Rarity-3.

Obverse die still exists (or did in 1951); rusted, part broken away at last few stars. At least one, possibly several, copper impressions exist muling this die with the Dickeson "Eagle on Shield" obverse. Duffield 1335 (list of countermarked coins of the world, 1921, Numismatist) describes what may be this same obverse muled with a cent reverse; unseen, said to be copper. This was probably a typographical error for the 1806 mule described later in the text.

1. Menjou:669, Uncirculated
2. Grant Pierce:596, Speir Estate sale:3.
3. Newcomer, Green, Macallister, T. James Clarke, NN 47:1559, AU.
4. Boyd, WGC:10.
5. Eliasberg Estate, said to be AU.
6. J.A. Stack:4, ditto.
7. ANS, "AU" lately regarded "EF").
8. Ruby, Gilhousen:37.
Numerical Condition Census (RWM, Sr.): 65, 64, 63+, 63, 63, 63.