1806 25C MS(PCGS#5314)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3040

Grade

MS64+

Price

42,000

Lot Description

Tompkins Die Stage 1/4, Rea et al. Die State b. An exceptional example that numbers among the finest known for the type, date, and die pairing. Softly frosted luster blankets both sides and remains as full and intense as on the day of striking. The surfaces have been lovingly preserved since then, acquiring original toning in wisps of cobalt blue and reddish-apricot iridescence, but remaining free of significant marks. In fact, were it not for a few wispy hairlines in the right obverse field and concentrations of planchet roller marks in the centers on both sides, we suspect that the graders at PCGS would have returned a full Gem grade of MS-65. As it is, the assigned grade of MS-64+ is both accurate and highly significant, the hairlines indicative of only the lightest numismatic handling at some point in the distant past, and the roller marks as made. While the latter interfere with the detail in the centers to a minor extent, this must be counted as a well struck Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle quarter given the abundance of bold to sharp definition present overall. A delight to behold, the acquisition of this coin will confirm the sharp eye and acumen of its new owner.<p>Now a mainstay denomination familiar to all, this was not the case for the quarter dollar in the beginning. Produced in limited numbers and erratically during the earliest years of U.S. Mint operations, the quarter was not a popular denomination with contemporary silver bullion depositors. Such coins were produced at the request of depositors during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and those dealing in silver bullion much preferred half dollars and silver dollars over quarters. In any event, there were enough Spanish colonial 2 reales in domestic circulation at the time that the United States Mint's alternative was not in great demand. Even so, calendar year 1806 saw the Mint deliver an unusually large number of quarters for the era - 206,124 pieces - those actually bearing the date 1806 eventually requiring 10 die marriages to produce.<p>Browning-2, offered here, is one of the more frequently encountered varieties of the issue in terms of total number of coins extant. As a date, of course, the 1806 quarter is very rare in the finest Mint State grades, as indeed is the Draped Bust type as a whole. With a pair of MS-65 specimens ranked as the finest known examples of the B-2 dies by Rea-Peterson-Karoleff-Kovach (2010), this beautiful MS-64+ is comfortably ranked as CC#2. (It is included in the Rea et al. census as tied for CC#3 based on its conservative grade of MS-63 assigned for the Norweb sale; interestingly, this coin is not included in the 2008 Tompkins census.) This is a significant and fleeting bidding opportunity for advanced early quarter enthusiasts and discerning type collectors that is worthy of serious pursuit.