1806/5 25c Draped Bust Quarter

Nice coin, but I'd wait for one that's a straight grade one.

I would agree!

VG-10 details, even so it would be a keeper.

I think it is actually an appealing example of a difficult type.
It is damaged, yes, but no so much that I would categorically refuse to add it to my collection. It comes down to the price at the end, it has to be right.

I have a similarly damaged example, even more so because de damage is in a focal area. However, it is a scarce variety (B-6, R-5), and it was priced so (about $ 225) that I decided to add it to my collection.

While I agree that unless you are putting together a high-end early quarter type set the defects may seem too severe to make the coin worth purchasing, it's also important to remember that this is already a scarce variety, and choice examples with strong eye appeal in any grade are often held and not sold.

It's been a quandary of collectors for years -- do I settle for something less than ideal to fill a hole, or wait for a better coin at a better price, knowing it may be anywhere from a day to 10 years or more before "THE coin" shows up? Personally, I would enjoy having this coin in my collection, but I would be unwilling to pay a market premium to acquire it.

Only your own attitude towards collecting and your passion for the series and its varieties can help you make that decision.

I think the price was a bit steep. Yes, it is a scarce variety of an already scarce coin, but not nearly as scarce as the early dimes, which (in my opinion) are somewhat harder to find in problem-free choice circulated grades than the quarters of the same era.

If you look at recent auction results for slabbed 1806/5 coins on PCGS or NGC, you can see how the problem-free graded coins are trending. Straight grade F12-VF20 coins have been selling for around $600-$1300. Depending on how you grade this coin, it brought in as much as 50% or as little as 20% of a full-grade example. While that might seem like a decent discount for a coin that will "details out", you also have to remember that the market for this coin is more "niche" than, say, Liberty Seated coinage, CBQ/CBH, or Large Cents, so if you need to sell at some point due to financial position or just want to get out of the coin, you might not be able to get back out what you put in, dollar-wise.