1855 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof
Proof struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 20 made
- Mintage
- 20
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.22 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 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1855 sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
What would make yours worth more:
- Grade and, for proofs, strong cameo contrast
- 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 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof rare?
- Fairly. The Mint made 20 for collectors. Most were kept in their original packaging.
- Is the 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1800 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark.
- How many 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter proofs were made?
- 20.
What to check on your 1855
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Judge the grade under good light. The word LIBERTY on Liberty's shield is the classic test: fully visible in Fine, partly worn in Very Good, gone in Good.
Proofs from 1855 were struck one at a time in small numbers and many were later spent or mishandled. Look for hairlines from cleaning, which lower the grade.
The story of the 1855
Arrows mark the lighter quarter (1853 to 1855)
The Act of February 21, 1853 cut the quarter from 6.68 to 6.22 grams so that silver coins would stay in circulation. Arrows were placed beside the date and rays around the eagle to show the change. Philadelphia struck more than 15.2 million in 1853, by far its largest quarter mintage up to that point. An 1853/4 variety shows traces of an earlier digit.
A small run of 1853 quarters was struck at the old weight without arrows, all from a repunched date die, with 44,200 reported. The rays were dropped after one year, though arrows stayed through 1855. San Francisco struck its first quarters in 1855, a mintage of 396,400. Arrow quarters survive in large numbers, many worn but with the arrows still visible, which makes them a popular choice for a type set.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1855
Arrows beside the date marked the reduced-weight silver coins for the last time. The San Francisco Mint struck its first silver coins: quarters and half dollars.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with QUAR. DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Quarter (1838–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1855 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Proof |
| Mintage | 20 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.22 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1800 troy oz (5.598 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter | 2,857,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
| 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof | 20 | Proof | 0.1800 oz |
| 1855-S Seated Liberty Quarter | 396,400 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
| 1855-S Seated Liberty Quarter Proof | 2 | Proof | 0.1800 oz |
| 1855-O Seated Liberty Quarter | 176,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 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.