1888-S Seated Liberty Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,216,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,216,000
- 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 1888-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 1888-S Seated Liberty Quarter rare?
- Somewhat. 1,216,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1888-S Seated Liberty 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 1888 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.
- How many 1888-S Seated Liberty Quarter coins were made?
- 1,216,000.
What to check on your 1888-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 1888 (10,001 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 1888 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof (832 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.
The story of the 1888-S
San Francisco hadn't struck the Seated Liberty Quarter since 1878. When it came back in 1888, it made 1,216,000. After that, San Francisco didn't make another until 1891.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1888 (10,001). In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1857-O (1,180,000) and the 1873, With Arrows (1,271,160).
Across San Francisco's 24 Seated Liberty Quarter issues, the hardest to find is the 1864-S with 20,000 made. The 1888-S is one of the easier ones. No Seated Liberty Quarter of the 1880s had a bigger run.
Small mintages in the final years (1879 to 1891)
By 1879 the country had more quarters than commerce needed. The Mint was also busy with silver dollars under the Bland-Allison Act. Philadelphia struck only 13,600 business strikes in 1879 and just 5,000 in 1886, the low point. Collectors and speculators saved many of these coins, so survivors are often uncirculated and frequently prooflike.
San Francisco struck 1,216,000 in 1888, the only branch mint quarter of the 1880s. In 1891 production surged again at Philadelphia, San Francisco and New Orleans. The 1891-O, with 68,000 struck, was the first New Orleans quarter since 1860 and is scarce. Philadelphia made several hundred to more than a thousand proofs every year of the period. For several dates the proofs are easier to locate than business strikes of the same year.
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 | 1888 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,216,000 |
| 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 1888 Seated Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1888 Seated Liberty Quarter | 10,001 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1888 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof | 832 | Proof | 0.1808 oz |
| 1888-S Seated Liberty Quarter | 1,216,000 | 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.