1893-S Barber Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,454,535 made
- Mintage
- 1,454,535
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.25 g
- Diameter
- 24.3 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1893-S Barber Quarter worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1893-S Barber Quarter rare?
- Somewhat. 1,454,535 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1893-S Barber Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1808 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1893 Barber Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle's tail. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1893 are scarcer?
- The 1896-S at 188,039, the 1897-S at 542,229, the 1892-S at 964,079, plus 1 more. So the 1893-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1893-S Barber Quarter coins were made?
- 1,454,535.
What to check on your 1893-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1893-O (3.4 million made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1893 Barber Quarter Proof (792 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the headband is the benchmark: a full, sharp LIBERTY is required for Very Fine and above.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1893-S
San Francisco made 1,454,535 in 1893, up from 964,079 in 1892. In 1894 the figure was 2.6 million.
1893-O came to 3.4 million and 1893 came to 5.4 million, so neither mint's 1893 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1913-D (1,450,800) and the 1896-O (1,484,000).
Across San Francisco's 21 Barber Quarter issues, the hardest to find is the 1913-S with 40,000 made. The 1893-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1890s it's 7th smallest of 24, between the 1897-O (1.4 million) and the 1896-O (1.5 million).
Charles Barber's debut and two reverse types (1892 to 1895)
Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber's design replaced the Seated Liberty quarter in 1892. Liberty wears a cap, a laurel wreath and a headband inscribed LIBERTY. The reverse uses a heraldic eagle adapted from the Great Seal. Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco all struck quarters from the start, with the mint mark below the eagle.
Early 1892 coins show the Type 1 reverse, on which the eagle's wing covers only about half of the E in UNITED. A modified Type 2 reverse later that year covers nearly all of the letter. Specialists collect both types. Mintages in these years run from about 964,000 for the 1892-S upward, so no date of the era is a true rarity. Most survivors are worn to Good or Very Good, where the rims have merged into the legends.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1893
The Carson City Mint struck its last coins in 1893. A financial panic that year led to the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.
How to recognize it
Charles Barber's Liberty faces right wearing a cap, a laurel wreath and a headband inscribed LIBERTY, with IN GOD WE TRUST above and 13 stars around. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle holding arrows and an olive branch with a ribbon reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. The mint mark sits below the eagle's tail. On worn coins, the letters of LIBERTY are the first thing to fade.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Barber Quarter (1892–1916) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1893 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,454,535 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.25 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1808 troy oz (5.625 g) |
| Designer | Charles E. Barber |
Other 1893 Barber Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1893 Barber Quarter | 5,444,023 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1893 Barber Quarter Proof | 792 | Proof | 0.1808 oz |
| 1893-S Barber Quarter | 1,454,535 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1893-O Barber Quarter | 3,396,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
Mintage: United States quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.