Values
A quarter eagle’s market depends on the head, the mint, and whether the Indian head is the incuse type. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover these coins. An empty chart is not a price.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The half eagle is the five-dollar coin with a similar run of heads. The gold dollar is smaller.
Key Dates
No key list was copied onto this page. An empty chart is not a claim that every date is common.
Errors
No year table. The article used here does not print mint-by-mint annual cells. Those years stay off rather than being filled from memory.
Rounded and combined figures. A phrase that says around, and a total for 1834 through 1839 as one number, are not one row per year.
The commemorative. The 1926 sesquicentennial quarter eagle is a different issue. It is not this page.
Earlier gold. Capped Bust quarter eagles before 1834 are not these heads. They are not rows here.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer quarter eagle pages. We do not host their plates. The explorer is not a mintage table for this chart.
Varieties
This page starts with the 1834 weight change. Three heads share it. Earlier quarter eagles are other pages. The 1926 sesquicentennial piece is a commemorative, not an Indian head quarter eagle.
- Classic Head, 1834–1839The head after the weight change. The plate on this page is an 1835 of this type.
- Liberty HeadThe coronet head that follows the Classic Head. It is a raised portrait, not the incuse Indian.
- 1848 CALA Liberty Head quarter eagle with CAL punched on the reverse. Guides name it. This page does not print a count.
- Indian Head, 1908–1929Bela Lyon Pratt’s incuse head. The portrait sits in the fields. It is not a weakly struck Liberty head.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Classic Head, Liberty Head, and Indian Head quarter eagles after the 1834 weight change.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
The Wikipedia quarter eagle article does not print a mint-by-mint year table. This chart stays empty. A multi-year total is not a row. Pre-1834 quarter eagles stay off. The 1926 commemorative stays off.
The chart is empty on purpose. The Wikipedia article does not print a mint-split year table. Proofs stay off. Pre-1834 quarter eagles stay off. The commemorative stays off.
The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for this coin.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. Classic Head, Liberty Head, and the incuse Indian head are not one planchet, and no catalog page used here prints one thickness for all three.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | Not printed |
| Composition | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | Classic Head and Liberty Head differ from Pratt’s incuse Indian head |
No catalog page used for the quarter eagle prints a thickness. Diameter, weight, and thickness stay Not printed. The half eagle planchet is not copied onto this coin.
Grading
A quarter eagle wears on the head and the eagle. Classic Head, Liberty Head, and the incuse Indian head are different coins.
On the incuse Indian head the fields are the high points. Marks there are not a weak portrait.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The head | Classic Head, Liberty Head, or the incuse Indian head. | This page starts in 1834. An earlier capped bust is a different page. |
| Incuse devices | Whether the portrait sits in the fields. | Pratt’s Indian head is cut in. A Liberty head stands up. |
| The reverse | The eagle, and that the coin is not the 1926 commemorative. | The exposition quarter eagle is a different issue. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a quarter eagle if you already know the type.
- The head and the eagle are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this quarter eagle are already slick.
- The head and the eagle are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A Liberty Head is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The head and the eagle are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from the head and the eagle.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The head and the eagle are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The head and the eagle still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the head and the eagle. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular Liberty Head is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the head and the eagle.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the head and the eagle.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the head and the eagle.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the head and the eagle.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean quarter eagle for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the head and the eagle.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof quarter eagles exist. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this gold coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
This page is the quarter eagle from the 1834 weight change through the Indian head of 1908–1929. Three heads share it: Classic Head, Liberty Head, and the incuse Indian head by Bela Lyon Pratt. Earlier quarter eagles, struck when the gold was worth more than the face, are a different page.
The photograph is an 1835 Classic Head quarter eagle from the National Numismatic Collection. Liberty Head and Indian Head quarter eagles share this page. Do not grade every quarter eagle as if it were that plate.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
In 1834 the weight of gold coins was reduced so they would stay in circulation. The Classic Head quarter eagle follows that change, and the Liberty head follows the Classic Head. Branch mints struck many of the Liberty dates. In 1908 Pratt’s Indian head put the devices below the fields. That incuse type runs through 1929.
The Wikipedia article prints a combined figure for several early years and a rounded figure for an older type. Neither is a mint-by-mint chart, so neither is copied here. Proofs exist. They are not circulation rows. The 1926 exposition piece with a standing Liberty is a commemorative, and it belongs on the classic gold commemorative page.
Design
Obverse: Classic Head and Liberty Head, raised portraits. The Indian head, by Bela Lyon Pratt, is incuse: the portrait sits in the fields instead of above them. Reverse: an eagle, and that eagle changes with the type. A mint mark, when the coin has one, is part of identifying the date. It is not a grade.
Look at the hair or the headdress, and at the eagle’s feathers. Incuse coins wear differently. The high points are the fields, not the portrait.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The Wikipedia quarter eagle article does not print a mint-by-mint year table. A multi-year total and a rounded phrase are not annual rows. This page will not invent the missing years.
Does this page include the 1796 quarter eagle?
No. This page starts with the 1834 weight change. Earlier quarter eagles are a later page.
Is the 1926 sesquicentennial coin this series?
No. That piece is a commemorative. It is not a Classic Head, Liberty Head, or Indian Head quarter eagle row.
How much is a quarter eagle worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include this series.
Collector Considerations
Name the head before you name the date. A Pratt Indian is not a Liberty head with weak hair. A commemorative dated 1926 is not an Indian head quarter eagle.
Pre-1834 gold is out of scope here. If the coin is an earlier capped bust, do not force it onto this empty chart.
The half eagle repeats the same problem of heads. The three-dollar piece is the coin people mix up with a quarter eagle in a drawer.
A Final Word
The quarter eagle page is three heads and an empty chart. The missing year table stays missing.
When a cited mint-by-mint table is in hand, the rows can be added. They will not be invented first.