An extreme rarity in this condition. Seldom seen better than fine; originally in one of Americas finest collections. — Abe Kosoff, 1943While 1796 quarters get more than their fair share of attention, sought after as one-year type coins and the first year of the denomination most beloved by the modern American public, connoisseurs know that in Mint State the 1804 quarter is the classic rarity of this denomination. With a tiny mintage, of which just a sliver survives in high grade, this is a coin dreamed about by specialists, avidly sought to complete date sets or represent one of the most charismatic dates in American coinage, 1804. Among the handful that have been called Mint State over the years, few boast greater eye appeal or originality than this one. Toned in iridescent deep silver gray, the obverse shows just flickers of the deep rich gold and pastel blue that awaits viewers on the reverse. The surfaces are deeply frosty, warm, and thoroughly lustrous. The visual aesthetic is spectacular from arms length or under a loupe. Traces of adjustment marks remain visible in the soft spot among the clouds atop the star cluster, but post-striking defects are tough to find aside from a few dispersed and trivial hairlines here or there. The detail is excellent for the issue, especially on the eagle and shield, and an earlier die clashing remains visible. No die cracks are present.Last sold two decades ago, this piece traces its provenance to two famous cabinets before its entrance into the D. Brent Pogue Collection. The more recent of the two was the cabinet of Harold S. Bareford, a notoriously picky collector whose taste for quality presaged the modern movement toward collecting pieces in premier grade. Before Barefords acquisition of this coin in 1958, it had last graced the famous collection of Michael F. Higgy, sold in 1943 by Abe Kosoff. Years later, the pioneering Kosoff would recall the Higgy sale as the beginning of the coin boom, unexpectedly setting record prices for nearly every lot. Without disclosing which, Kosoff tantalizingly teases that this 1804 quarter was originally in one of Americas finest collections, perhaps that of Col. E.H.R. Green (dispersed in the late 1930s and early 1940s), Waldo C. Newcomer, or another legendary figure that will, for today, remain unknown.Few collections built anywhere have included an 1804 quarter this fine, and long is the list of advanced collections that have lacked one entirely. PCGS has graded fewer 1804 quarters in all grades than any other date in the Draped Bust series. In Mint State, no other date comes close in rarity; the 1804 is the rarest date in the series in high grade by a wide margin. There are three examples certified as MS-64 by PCGS, but none finer. Among the other two, only one is comparable to this one in quality: the Jimmy Hayes specimen that now resides in a famous Midwest cabinet. The Hayes coin brought $57,750 in the 1985 Stacks 50th Anniversary sale, the same price as the Hayes 1792 half disme, (sold in 2013 for $793,125), a testament to the exceptional nature of a near-gem 1804 quarter. Adding to the desirability of the 1804 is its status as the first year of issue with the Heraldic Eagle reverse; first year of issue status is a special cachet enjoyed by a number of coins in the Pogue Collection including the 1794 half dollar and 1808 quarter eagle in the present sale. Most connoisseurs of the modern generation of collectors have never had an opportunity to bid on an example of the 1804 quarter dollar in such high grade, and decades may pass until another arises.
