1818 25C Browning 8 AU55 Certification #39373090, PCGS #38949

Ron Guth

The 1818 Browning 8 Quarter Dollar is one of the scarce, non-overdate varieties of this year.  It is the only variety of 1818 that is known in both Proof and circulation-strike formats.  Only two Proofs are known: one in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution and another sold out of the Eric P. Newman Collection in 2013 for $381,875.  Mint State examples are rare, but obtainable.  Most Mint State examples are MS63 or lower, but there are a few nice MS64's at the high end.  Apart from the Proofs, none are known above MS64.

This variety is instantly recognizable because of the presence of a fourth claw in the talon on the left side of the reverse.  In the bird world, this is the "hallux"; in humans, the hallux is the big toe.  No other reverse of the 1815 to 1828 type shows this feature and it can be seen even on well-worn examples.