Draped Bust Large Eagle Quarter (1804-07)
Mint Mark Information

The first US quarter was issued in 1796. After that, quarter production did not resume until 1804.

The reason for the lengthy hiatus was that the Spanish Two Reales, worth about 25 cents, circulated freely in the early United States, and filled the role for this denomination. Recognizing this, the Mint opted to focus on other coin types in need of attention.

By the time the quarter was revived, the small eagle reverse of the 1796 edition had been replaced on US coinage by a larger, more robust eagle. The Draped Bust Large Eagle Quarter did not fare much better than its predecessor, as the public still preferred the Two Reales. The fact that the US Quarter contained a tad bit more silver than the Two Reales caused some hoarding of the quarter.

The last of the Draped Bust Large Eagle Quarters were released in 1807. The next chance for the quarter would not occur until 1815.

Draped Bust Quarter Obverse

Draped Bust Quarter
Large Eagle Reverse

As is the case for all pre-1838 US coins, there are no Mint Marks to search for:

That's because up until 1838, the Philadelphia Mint was the only US coining facility, and did not place a Mint Mark on the coins it produced. In fact, the first "P" Mint Mark was not used until 1942, in the midst of World War II, to denote silver wartime Jefferson Nickels. The Draped Bust Large Eagle Quarter is shown at right, photos provided by Goldberg Coins.

As is often true for the earliest US coin types, there are Draped Bust Large Eagle Quarter key dates with very good potential to enjoy future value increases.

At the forefront is the 1804. With a long, impressive record of price hikes due to consistent collector demand, there’s every reason to believe this performance will continue.

The eBay search box below isolates 1804 quarters currently for sale. Be sure only to buy examples of this rare date from reputable dealers and have preferably been certified by PCGS, NGC, ICG, or ANACS. There are crooks pedaling fake coins with this date, because of its popularity with numismatists and investors.

1804 Draped Bust Quarter