Values
The 1808 quarter eagle is a one-year bust facing left. 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 this piece. Do not paste an auction hammer into the grade columns.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The bust-right heraldic quarter eagle is the previous type. The capped head quarter eagle does not start until 1821.
Key Dates
1808 only. There is no 1809–1820 quarter eagle of this design. The gap is a pause, not a run of unlisted dates.
Errors
Bust right. 1796–1807 face the other way.
Half eagle. The 1807–1812 bust-left coin is five dollars.
Invented mintage. A number you remember is not a row.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
One year, 1808, bust facing left. There is no second design on this page. A bust facing right is an earlier quarter eagle, not a rotated 1808.
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
The one-year Capped Bust left quarter eagle, 1808.
| 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 chart is empty on purpose. The quarter eagle article does not print a count for 1808. A remembered count does not. 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. The weight row is the 1792 standard for a quarter eagle. No catalog page used here prints a thickness.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | 67.5 grains standard (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Composition | 11/12 gold, 1/12 alloy (Coinage Act of April 2, 1792) |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | John Reich |
No catalog page used for the 1808 Capped Bust left quarter eagle prints a thickness. Diameter and thickness stay Not printed. The weight is the 1792 quarter-eagle standard. One year only.
Grading
The 1808 quarter eagle wears first on the left-facing cap and on the cheek.
It is one year. The next quarter eagle is the capped head of 1821.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Bust | Liberty facing left. | 1796–1807 face right. |
| Date | 1808 only. | A different date is a different type. |
| Cap | The cap over the hair. | The capped head of 1821 is larger and later. |
| Heraldic eagle | The eagle on the reverse. | The reverse is part of the grade. One date does not skip that side. |
| Pause | The years after 1808 with no coin. | A gap is a pause, not a blank row. |
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 capped bust left quarter eagle if you already know the type.
- The cap and the cheek 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 capped bust left quarter eagle are already slick.
- The cap and the cheek are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1808 quarter eagle is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The cap and the cheek 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 cap and the cheek.
- 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 cap and the cheek 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 cap and the cheek still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the cap and the cheek. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1808 quarter eagle 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 cap and the cheek.
- 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 cap and the cheek.
- 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 cap and the cheek.
- 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 cap and the cheek.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean capped bust left quarter eagle for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the cap and the cheek.
- 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.
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
1808 is the only quarter eagle with the bust facing left before the long pause. John Reich’s portrait is the usual attribution. The coin still uses the 1792 quarter-eagle weight. Capped head quarter eagles resume in 1821. Classic Head coins, lighter, start in 1834 on the existing quarter eagle page.
The photograph is an 1808 quarter eagle with Liberty facing left, from the National Numismatic Collection.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
Quarter eagle coinage had used a bust facing right. In 1808 it faced left for a single year and then stopped. The article records the type. It does not record a delivery figure this page is willing to treat as a row.
Design
Obverse: capped bust facing left. Reverse: heraldic eagle. One date. No mint mark. Two and a half dollars, not five.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The quarter eagle article does not print a mintage for 1808. One famous year is still not a license to invent the count.
Why is this its own page?
It is a one-year type. The bust faces left, unlike the 1796–1807 quarter eagles, and the next quarter eagle is the capped head of 1821.
Is the bust-left half eagle the same coin?
No. The half eagle facing left runs 1807–1812 and is five dollars.
How much is an 1808 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 coin. An auction result is not a guide cell.
Collector Considerations
If the date is not 1808, it is not this page. If the head is larger and the date is in the 1820s, it is the capped head.
A Final Word
The 1808 quarter eagle page is one year and an empty chart. The missing count stays missing.
An auction story is not a mintage.