Coin Collecting 101 - The U.S. Standing Liberty Quarter
The Standing Liberty Quarter, immediate predecessor of the Washington Quarter, has long been considered one of the most beautiful U.S. coins.
Though it was only produced for 15 years, the series is full of valuable key-dates and interesting varieties.
In this article, I’ll provide a quick history of the Standing Liberty Quarter, along with a grading guide, a list of key-dates, and a price guide.
History
The Standing Liberty Quarter was created in 1916 to replace the Barber Quarter design, a design of Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber that had been used on quarters, dimes, and half dollars since 1892.
Barber's low-relief design was ideal for efficiently producing large numbers of coins at a low cost, but the basic, spartan design was unpopular with the public.
After his election to the presidency, Theodore Roosevelt took an active interest in modernizing the nation's coin designs on more artistic lines, deeming the existing designs to be of "atrocious hideousness."
As a result of his efforts, the U.S. Mint released new designs for the $20 gold Double Eagle denomination and the $10 gold Eagle (designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens), as well as the $5 gold Half Eagle and $2.50 gold Quarter Eagle (the Indian Head design by Bela Lyon Pratt). The Lincoln cent and Buffalo nickel designs were launched soon after.
The Barber designs outlasted all of those coins due to an archaic law preventing coin designs from being changed until 25 years after their start date.
Satisfied with the other new designs of coins, the Mint again turned to professional sculptors to draft the new quarter design. The American sculptor Hermon A. MacNeil's submission won the Mint's approval.
MacNeil's design was heavily symbolic, intended to represent an American response to the start of World War I.
In 1916 when the coin was first produced, America had not yet entered the war and still held an isolationist stance. The coin's obverse features Lady Liberty striding forward, holding an olive branch in one hand and a shield in the other - symbolizing that America wanted peace, but was ready to defend herself if necessary. Liberty holds her shield pointed to the heraldic east, in the direction of Europe.
The coin's reverse features an eagle in flight, as another U.S. law required the inclusion of an eagle on all denominations of coins from quarters on upwards.
Due to Mint production delays, the new design did not start getting produced until the winter of 1916, resulting in a series-low mintage of 52,000 1916-dated coins.
The initial design featured Lady Liberty with an exposed right breast, but the sculptor MacNeil revised his original design in 1917 and clothed Liberty in a chainmail top. The change may have been made due to a desire to portray Liberty in a stronger light, given the U.S. entry into WWI, but was not made due to any public outcry over the nudity.
As a result of the design change, all coins dated 1916 and some coins dated 1917 bear the original "Type 1" design, while some 1917 coins bear the chainmail top "Type 2" design.
About a decade into the series, Mint officials realized that the date was completely wearing off on coins in circulation. To combat that, the Mint lowered the relief on the date in 1925 to better protect it from wear.
As a result, circulated coins dated 1925 and onward are much cheaper than coins from earlier in the series, as many of the earlier coins no longer have visible dates.
Specifications
The Standing Liberty Quarter measures 24.3mm in diameter (same size as a mdoern quarter), weighs 6.25g, and is composed of a 90% silver / 10% copper alloy. The coin contains 0.18084 troy oz of silver, a bullion value of about $3 at silver's current value of $18.50/oz.
Grading Guide
As with all U.S. coins, Standing Liberty Quarters can be broadly categorized into 7 condition grades, ranging from heavy wear to mint state condition. Each grade is paired with a numeric value on the 70-point Sheldon grading scale, with 0 representing a completely worn, featureless coin and 70 representing a coin in perfect mint condition.
Good Condition (G-4) - Heavy wear on the entire design, with inscriptions still visible but faded in parts and Lady Liberty worn flat. The rim is partially worn down into the coin's fields. "PEACE" partially missing.
Very Good Condition (VG-8) - The top part of Liberty's chainmail top is visible. The rim is light but fully defined. Some of the eagle's feathers are visible.
Fine Condition (F-12) - All inscriptions fully defined. Some parts of Liberty's gown are defined, and the outer rim of the shield is complete. Half of the eagle's wing feathers are visible.
Very Fine Condition (VF-20) - Moderate wear on the higher parts of the design. The inner circle of the shield is complete. Gown lines across Liberty's legs are visible. Most of the eagle's wing feathers are visible.
Extremely Fine Condition (XF-40) - Light wear on the highest parts of the coin. Small traces of mint luster may remain. Liberty's right leg has a more rounded shape. All wing feathers are visible.
About Uncirculated Condition (AU-50) - Very light wear, and partial mint luster. All design details well defined, with wear on highest points only (Lady Liberty's head, the center of the shield, and the eagle's chest).
Mint State Condition (MS-60) - All design details fully defined, full mint luster (possibly weak), and no wear. Technically uncirculated, but typically an unattractive coin with many blotches, light scratches, or contact marks from striking other coins.
Mint State Condition (MS-63) - Strong mint luster, with fewer contact marks - typically a few on Lady Liberty's body.
Mint State Condition (MS-65) - Very strong mint luster, with minimal contact marks isolated in less visible locations.
Full Head
Standing Liberty Quarters exhibit a wide level of variance in the strength of the strike, with some coins showing well-struck, fully-defined details and others poorly-struck, mushy details.
Lady Liberty's head is the highest point of the design, and is typically used to gauge the quality of an individual coin's strike - a well-struck coin will show Liberty's full hairline, brow, and cheek.
Third-party grades like NGC and PCGS give Standing Liberty Quarters with fully-detailed heads an additional designation of "Full Head" or "FH" in addition to the numerical grade - i.e. MS-65 FH.
Full Head coins are worth a significant premium over non-Full Head coins in the same grade. An MS-63 FH typically demands about 2X the price of an equivalent non-FH MS-63, an MS-64 FH 3-4X the price of a non-FH MS-64, and an MS-65 FH as much as 5-6X.
The Full Head designation is worth a more modest premium in lower uncirculated grades, and is not given to coins in grades lower than About Uncirculated.
Key Dates
There are three key dates to the Standing Liberty Quarter series, based on year and mintmark. The coin's mintmark is found on the obverse to the left of Lady Liberty's foot, next to the bottom-most star. The "M" on the other side of the obverse is the designer's initial.
Standing Liberty Quarters were minted at three U.S. mints - San Francisco ("S" mintmark), Denver ("D" mintmark), and Philadelphia (no mintmark).
- 1916 (Philadelphia mint, no mintmark) - a series-low mintage of only 52,000 coins makes the first-year date valuable in all conditions.
- 1921 (Philadelphia mint, no mintmark) - while 2,000,000 of these coins were produced, a low survival rate has now made this date scarce.
- 1923-S (San Francisco mint, "S" mintmark) - a survival rate similar to the 1921 but with an even smaller original mintage.
Outside of those keydates, pre-1925 coins are worth a premium compared to post-1925 coins, as the 1925 design update fixed the problem of the date completely wearing down. Quarters without a visible date are worth only a slight premium over silver bullion value.
The 1927-S, with the 2nd lowest series mintage (396,000), is considered a semi-key date and is especially scarce in higher grades. The low mintage of the date was widely known among the collecting community of the 1920s, so the coin was heavily hoarded at the time and is more available and affordable in circulated grades than its mintage might suggest.
Price Guide
| Year | G-4 | VG-8 | F-12 | VF-20 | XF-40 | AU-50 | MS-60 | MS-63 | MS-65 |
| 1916 | $2800 |
$3800 | $5200 | $6200 | $7500 | $9000 | $12000 | $16000 | $24000 |
| 1917 (Type 1) | $20 | $22 | $25 | $27 | $30 | $35 | $40 | $50 | $100 |
| 1917-D (Type 1) | $20 | $22 | $25 | $27 | $30 | $35 | $40 | $50 | $500 |
| 1917-S (Type 1) | $20 | $22 | $25 | $27 | $30 | $35 | $40 | $60 | $1400 |
| 1917 (Type 2) | $20 | $22 | $25 | $27 | $30 | $35 | $40 | $50 | $120 |
| 1917-D (Type 2) | $20 | $22 | $25 | $27 | $30 | $35 | $40 | $50 | $1000 |
| 1917-S (Type 2) | $20 | $22 | $25 | $27 | $30 | $35 | $45 | $70 | $2300 |
| 1918 | $15 | $17 | $20 | $30 | $45 | $75 | $160 | $300 | $500 |
| 1918-D | $15 | $25 | $30 | $60 | $90 | $130 | $250 | $350 | $1100 |
| 1918-S | $15 | $20 | $30 | $40 | $50 | $100 | $150 | $250 | $1000 |
| 1919 | $15 | $20 | $30 | $60 | $90 | $120 | $150 | $250 | $500 |
| 1919-D | $100 | $150 | $200 | $250 | $500 | $700 | $900 | $2000 | $3000 |
| 1919-S | $100 | $150 | $200 | $250 | $450 | $550 | $900 | $2000 | $6000 |
| 1920 | $15 | $20 | $25 | $30 | $45 | $90 | $120 | $200 | $400 |
| 1920-D | $50 | $75 | $100 | $150 | $200 | $250 | $500 | $1000 | $2000 |
| 1920-S | $15 | $20 | $25 | $30 | $45 | $75 | $200 | $600 | $2000 |
| 1921 | $120 | $150 | $250 | $350 | $650 | $900 | $1100 | $2000 | $2500 |
| 1923 | $15 | $20 | $25 | $30 | $50 | $100 |
$150 | $250 | $450 |
| 1923-S | $200 | $350 | $450 | $650 | $1200 | $1500 | $2000 | $3000 | $3500 |
| 1924 | $10 | $15 | $20 | $25 | $50 | $100 | $150 | $200 | $400 |
| 1924-D | $50 | $75 | $100 | $125 | $150 | $200 | $250 | $300 | $400 |
| 1924-S | $40 | $50 | $60 | $100 | $150 | $200 | $400 | $700 | $2000 |
| 1925 | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $200 | $400 |
| 1926 | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $200 | $400 |
| 1926-D | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $200 | $350 |
| 1926-S | $5 | $7 | $10 | $25 | $50 | $200 | $450 | $700 | $2500 |
| 1927 | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $200 | $400 |
| 1927-D | $10 | $15 | $20 | $25 | $75 | $150 | $200 | $300 | $500 |
| 1927-S | $20 | $25 | $50 | $200 | $600 | $2000 | $3000 | $6000 | $10000 |
| 1928 | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $200 | $400 |
| 1928-D | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $150 | $350 |
| 1928-S | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $150 | $350 |
| 1929 | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $150 | $350 |
| 1929-D | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $150 | $350 |
| 1929-S | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $150 | $350 |
| 1930 | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $150 | $350 |
| 1930-S | $5 | $7 | $10 | $15 | $25 | $45 | $100 | $150 | $350 |
Standing Liberty Quarter prices are derived from 2016/17 coin auction results on eBay and Heritage Auctions.
Other Random Notes
Toning
The most common toning found on Standing Liberty Quarters is a light golden/brown color, often spotty/blotchy in appearance, which is generally not worth a premium and in many cases may actually be valued less than a comparable untoned coin.
Multicolored or rainbow toning is much rarer and consequently demands a premium, though the level of demand for toned Standing Liberty Quarters is much less than that of more commonly toned coins like Morgan Dollars or Franklin Half Dollars.
Varieties, Errors and Proof Coins
Outside of the Type 1/Type 2 design varieties, the Standing Liberty series has one notable variety - the 1918/7-S. In 1918, The San Francisco mint repurposed an unused die from the previous year, stamping over the "7" with an "8" while leaving part of the 7 clearly visible. Only a small number of coins were produced on that single die, making it very valuable in all grades - ranging from $1,000 in Good condition to $20,000 in MS-63.
No Proof coins were produced for the Standing Liberty series.
Coin Dealers
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