#1 Standing Liberty Quarter Buyer Las Vegas & Henderson

History

Owing to the general unpopularity of the Barber quarter dollar design, the Standing Liberty quarter dollar series began in 1916 and continued through 1930. The quarter dollars were minted in the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco mints. The obverse or front of the coin displays an image of Liberty in a standing pose with her left arm raised and holding a shield and her right hand holding an olive branch. The word “Liberty” surrounds her head and she stands on a pedestal with the date of mintage below her feet. The mintmark is located just to the left of her feet. The words, “In God” and “We Trust” respectively, appear on gates placed on either side of Liberty. The gates also display thirteen stars placed vertically and representing the original thirteen colonies. The first issues of these coins in 1916 and early 1917 quickly became controversial as Liberty also had an exposed breast. It is unclear why the design included this feature and equally unclear why it was changed during the second year of minting although there is speculation that the image of Liberty with an exposed breast may have been considered obscene. The reverse of the coin displays an eagle in flight, with the motto, “E Pluribus Unum”, appearing between the wings. Thirteen stars surround the eagle, again representing the original thirteen colonies and the words, “United States Of America”, are displayed above the eagle. The denomination is spelled out as “Quarter Dollar” below the eagle at the bottom of the coin. The Standing Liberty quarter dollar weighs 6.25 grams and is made with 90% silver. The diameter of the coin is 24.3 mm.

As previously mentioned, the initial design of the Standing Liberty quarter dollar was changed in the second year of minting owing to the questionable image of Liberty. As a result, in 1917 the design was changed to provide chain mail over Liberty’s chest, thus covering the previously exposed breast. On the reverse of the coin the stars were rearranged to have three now displayed beneath the eagle. Also, the eagle is situated higher on the coin. A final minor change was made in 1925 through the end of the series in 1930 where the date was recessed. This was done to help ensure that the date would remain visible after normal wear from circulation. In fact, the Standing Liberty series is known for its design not holding up very well from circulation. In particular, coins from the first two years of mintage can command values that are twice the norm if the head and other key details of Liberty are clear or considered “fully struck”. For a relatively short series, only lasting fifteen years, the Standing Liberty quarter is popular among collectors with many individuals attempting to complete a collection of the entire series. With the exception of three key-date coins, it is not particularly difficult to complete such a collection.

Value

Most common dates in the series particularly from the later years, in well circulated condition, can be purchased for under $10. Earlier common date years in good condition will range from about $15 to $50, but go up in value to several hundred dollars in high mint state. Key date coins in the series can exceed $10,000 in mint state, with both the 1916 and the 1918 S (with 8 over 7) falling into this category.
Since these coins have a high silver content, they are referred to as “constitutional” or “junk” silver and raw, ungraded examples have been sold and melted down just for the silver content making it possible that some coins may actually be more rare than their mintages would reflect. However, extremely poor, worn example coins
may not have any appreciable collector value and so may only be worth the current value, (or “spot price”) reflected by their silver content.

There are many varied opinions on the condition (or grade) of a coin, and the aforementioned values reflect the highest retail prices that have been obtained for those coins that have been assessed by a third party grading company. Such coins have been authenticated, graded and encapsulated by expert coin grading companies to minimize any doubt as to their quality and value and therefore their potential worth.

We Buy Standing Liberty Quarter Dollars

We would like to buy your coins and as a business it is our pledge to offer you the best value for them, however, always remember that the prices you may find online or in price guides usually represent the highest retail value for the coin in an already certified condition. As a trusted dealer we will have our coin specialists evaluate your coins at no cost and offer you a price that is both fair for you, but that also allows us to realize a reasonable profit.