1805 Draped Bust Quarter

The 1805 quarter continues the Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle design introduced the previous year, with a substantially higher mintage that makes it the most obtainable date within this short four-year series (1804-1807). For many collectors it serves as the practical entry point for owning an example of this design type without the extraordinary cost of the 1804 key date.

As one of the earliest quarters produced in meaningful quantity, the 1805 issue still carries the appeal and scarcity inherent to any coin over two centuries old, even though it is comparatively common within its own tiny series.

Following the resumption of quarter dollar coinage in 1804, the Philadelphia Mint struck a considerably larger run of quarters in 1805, reflecting steadier bullion deposits and growing commercial demand for silver coinage in the early Jefferson administration.

The design, engraved by Robert Scot, paired the Draped Bust obverse with the Heraldic Eagle reverse borrowed from other early U.S. silver denominations, a combination used with only minor date-to-date differences through 1807.

Like all coinage of this era, 1805 quarters circulated actively in commerce, and many were eventually worn smooth, melted for bullion, or lost, so that even the more common dates of the type are scarce by modern standards.

The obverse shows Liberty as a draped bust facing right, LIBERTY inscribed above, a ring of stars around the border, and the date 1805 below.

The reverse features the Heraldic Eagle with a shield on its breast, arrows and an olive branch in its talons, E PLURIBUS UNUM on a ribbon above, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border, with "25 C." below the eagle indicating the denomination.

The coin has a reeded edge and is struck in the pre-1837 silver standard of roughly 89.2% fine. Collectors distinguish it from the 1804 primarily by the more available surviving population and generally lower price for comparable grades, though sharp, well-struck, and fully original 1805 examples are still far from common.

As the most obtainable date of the Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle quarter type, the 1805 issue is priced well below the 1804 key date, though it remains a genuinely scarce, historically significant coin. Worn, well-circulated examples are within reach of many collectors, typically priced in the low-to-mid four figures, while choice or mint-state pieces are considerably rarer and more expensive.

As with all early silver, sharply struck coins with original surfaces and no cleaning or damage command the strongest premiums.