USA 25 cents Seated Liberty Quarter 1871
USA, Philadelphia
Rarity
Scarce
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ¼ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# 98 |
| Mintage | 118,200 |
| 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
Starting in 1870 the Philadelphia Mint's production of silver coins began to creep upward, following several years of very low production. This was aided in part by the declining price of silver bullion that led to several nations dropping their bimetallic standards in favor of a sole gold standard. This led to large withdrawls of silver coins in those countries which further eroded the international price for silver. The remainder of the decade would see a rapid increase in the coining of fractional silver coins by the United States Mint, a trend which did not end until 1878. The combining of four obverse dies with two reverses resulted in a total of four die marriages for this issue. Clumsy die preparation resulted in two of the obverses having letters BER of LIBERTY partially polished away. None of these varieties is of much interest. This issue is moderately scarce across all grades, though Mint State examples are more available than for any other issue since the mid 1860s. Any pieces that were still on hand at the mint would have been melted after the new standard became effective in 1873.Read More
