1873-S Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 156,000 made
- Mintage
- 156,000
- 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 1873-S Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1873-S is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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 1873-S Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows rare?
- Yes. Only 156,000 were made, 50th lowest of the 108 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1873-S Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1808 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1873 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 1873 are scarcer?
- The 1871-S at 30,900, the 1869-S at 76,000, the 1872-S at 83,000, plus 2 more. So the 1873-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1873-S Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows coins were made?
- 156,000.
What to check on your 1873-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 1873-CC (4,000 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 1873 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof, No Arrows (600 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 1873-S
San Francisco made 156,000 in 1873, up from 83,000 in 1872. In 1874 the figure was 392,000.
The other mints made far more that year: 1873 alone came to 1.3 million, roughly 8.1 for every 1873-S. If you're checking a pile of 1873 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1851 (160,000) and the 1848 (146,000).
Across San Francisco's 24 Seated Liberty Quarter issues, the hardest to find is the 1864-S with 20,000 made. The 1873-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1870s it's 13th smallest of 28, between the 1878-S (140,000) and the 1872 (182,000).
It also marks a change of metal: 1873 is the first year of the Seated Liberty Quarter in 90% silver, 10% copper, which lasted until 1891.
Arrows return and the redemption flood (1873 to 1878)
The Coinage Act of 1873 raised the quarter slightly to 6.25 grams. Arrows again flanked the date in 1873 and 1874 to mark the change. Earlier in 1873 Philadelphia struck no-arrow quarters with both closed 3 and open 3 dates. Carson City's 1873-CC without arrows had a reported mintage of 4,000 and only five examples are known.
The Resumption Act of 1875 called for silver coins to replace the small paper notes issued during the Civil War. Quarter output exploded: Philadelphia struck 17.8 million in 1876 and 10.9 million in 1877, while San Francisco and Carson City added millions more. The 1877-S includes an S over horizontal S variety. The 1878-S, with only 140,000 struck, is the scarce date. The 1878-CC was Carson City's last quarter. Coins of 1875 to 1877 are the most common Seated quarters today.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1873
The Coinage Act of 1873 ended the two-cent piece, the three-cent silver, the half dime and the standard silver dollar. It also created the trade dollar for commerce in Asia. Arrows were added beside the date of dimes, quarters and halves to mark a small weight change. Critics later called the act the "Crime of '73" for dropping the silver dollar.
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 | 1873 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 156,000 |
| 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 | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1873 Seated Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1873 Seated Liberty Quarter, No Arrows | 212,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
| 1873 Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows | 1,271,160 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1873 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof, No Arrows | 600 | Proof | 0.1800 oz |
| 1873-S Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows | 156,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1873-CC Seated Liberty Quarter, No Arrows | 4,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
| 1873-CC Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows | 12,462 | 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.