USA 25 cents Seated Liberty Quarter 1866
USA, Philadelphia
Rarity
Extremely Rare
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ¼ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# 98 |
| Mintage | 16,800 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| thickness | 1.75 mm |
| diameter | 24.3 mm |
| weight | 6.22 g |
Obverse:
Liberty
Star
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
LIBERTY
Reverse:
Coat of arms
Creators:
Christian Gobrecht
QUAR.DOL.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
The motto IN GOD WE TRUST, which had debuted on the two-cent piece in 1864, was fitted this year to all gold and silver coins large enough to accommodate it. The new reverse hub which included this motto on a banner was also a bit lower in relief than for previous Seated Liberty Quarters. It's ironic then that the majority of 1866(P) quarters are poorly struck at their centers, this being especially obvious on the reverse. Larry Briggs attributed this weakness to damage occurring to the reverse die, but inspection of the coins points toward improper annealing of the planchets. Given this issue's very low mintage, the second smallest of the decade, it was quite possible for an entire run of planchets to have been mishandled. A single pair of dies produced this date/mint, and that mintage probably occurred in a single day. 1866(P) quarters are rare in all grades, though the number of Mint State coins is disproportionately high to the overall population.Read More
