1818/5 25C MS64 Certification #05730106, PCGS #5323

Of the ten die pairs known for 1818 Quarters, two employed a previously unused 1815 obverse die engraved by John Reich, which was later over-dated by Robert Scot for use in 1818. Browning 1 is the first use of this over-dated obverse, and it exhibits a strong over-date with the 5 under-digit clearly visible. Browning 3 is a later use of the obverse die, now lapped to erase nearly all evidence of the 5.

The James A. Stack Collection, a provenance well known to include many of the finest known Early American coins, also included three of the finest surviving 1818/5 Capped Bust Quarters. Sold in a single owner sale by Stack’s in March, 1975, lot 12, was one of the finest examples of Browning 1. The Stack collection also included two exceptional examples of Browning 3, lots 13 and 14.

Coins struck from both 1818/5 die pairs are regularly available in Mint State, and enough high grade, unattributed 1818 Quarters have now been attributed as Browning 3, that high grade B.3s should be priced as type coins for the series of Capped Bust, Large Size Quarters. However, examples of Browning 1 continue to bring premiums across all grades as the strongest examples of the 1818/5 overdate.

---

Ron Guth

The 1818/5 Quarter Dollar is one of ten die vareities of the year, and it is the only one which shows an overdate.  In it's first use (Browning 1), the obverse die shows clear remnants of a 5 beneath the second 8 of the date, as well as evidence of clashing from the reverse scroll that shows up as a line connecting the tops of the digits of the date.  Later, the die was polished to remove the underdate, then the die was used again (Browning 3) with a different reverse.

The 1818/5 Quarter Dollar is a fairly common variety and can be found in high grade.  According to the Rea-Koenings-Haroutunian census, the top ten examples range in grade from MS-65 to MS-67. The PCGS CoinFacts Census ranges from MS-65 to MS-66.  The difference between the two censuses is the Browning plate coin (ex Col. Green, now in the Eric P. Newman collection) -- graded MS-67 by Rea et al.