1855-S Seated Liberty Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 396,400 made
- Mintage
- 396,400
- 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-S Seated Liberty 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 1855-S Seated Liberty Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 396,400 were made, 66th lowest of the 108 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1855-S Seated Liberty Quarter 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. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1855 are scarcer?
- The 1860-S at 56,000, the 1859-S at 80,000, the 1857-S at 82,000, plus 2 more. So the 1855-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1855-S Seated Liberty Quarter coins were made?
- 396,400.
What to check on your 1855-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 1855-O (176,000 made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- 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 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof (20 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. The word LIBERTY on Liberty's shield is the classic test: fully visible in Fine, partly worn in Very Good, gone in Good.
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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1855-S
This was the first time San Francisco made the Seated Liberty Quarter for circulation: 396,400 coins. In 1856 the figure was 286,000.
The other mints made far more that year: 1855 alone came to 2.9 million, roughly 7.2 for every 1855-S. If you're checking a pile of 1855 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1874-S (392,000) and the 1860-O (388,000).
Across San Francisco's 24 Seated Liberty Quarter issues, the hardest to find is the 1864-S with 20,000 made. The 1855-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1850s it's 13th smallest of 25, between the 1856-S (286,000) and the 1858-O (520,000).
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 | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 396,400 |
| 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.