1805 Draped Bust Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 121,394 made
- Mintage
- 121,394
- Metal
- 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper
- Weight
- 6.74 g
- Diameter
- 27.5 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1805 Draped Bust Quarter worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1805 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1805 Draped Bust Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 121,394 were made, 3rd lowest of the 5 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1805 Draped Bust Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper and holds 0.1934 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1805 Draped Bust Quarter?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1805 are scarcer?
- The 1804 at 6,738. So the 1805 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1805 Draped Bust Quarter coins were made?
- 121,394.
What to check on your 1805
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the hair above Liberty's forehead, the drapery at the bust and the eagle's breast feathers. Adjustment marks from the planchet filing are normal and not damage.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1805
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1805: 121,394 coins, about 18 times the 1804 run. In 1806 the figure was 206,124.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1805 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1806 (206,124) and the 1807 (220,643).
Only the 1796 and the 1804 have a lower mintage among Philadelphia's 5 Draped Bust Quarters. Among the 1800s issues, only the 1804 had a smaller run.
Heraldic eagle quarters (1804 to 1807)
Quarter production resumed in 1804 with a new reverse taken from the dollar and half eagle: a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast, a ribbon reading E PLURIBUS UNUM and a field of stars above. For the first time the value appeared, as 25 C. below the eagle. The 1804 is the key of the type with a mintage of 6,738 and is scarce in every grade.
Output then rose quickly to 121,394 in 1805, 206,124 in 1806 and 220,643 in 1807. The 1806/5 overdate shows traces of a 5 under the last digit. Heraldic eagle quarters are often weak on the stars, the clouds and the shield because high points on the two sides sat opposite each other and the screw press could not fill both. Most survivors are well worn and many show adjustment marks or old cleaning. Quarter coinage then stopped again until 1815.
How to recognize it
Liberty faces right with her hair tied by a ribbon and a drape across her bust, with LIBERTY above and the date below. The 1796 reverse shows a small eagle standing on a cloud inside a wreath and has no mark of value. From 1804 the reverse shows a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast and the value 25 C. beneath.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Draped Bust Quarter (1796–1807) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1805 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 121,394 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper |
| Weight | 6.74 grams |
| Diameter | 27.5 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1934 troy oz (6.015 g) |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
Mintage: United States quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.