1920 Standing Liberty Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 27,860,000 made
- Mintage
- 27,860,000
- 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 a 1920 Standing Liberty Quarter worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.1808 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A full head on Liberty (FH)
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1920 Standing Liberty Quarter rare?
- No. With 28 million made, it's one of the most common Standing Liberty Quarters.
- Is the 1920 Standing 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 a 1920 Standing Liberty Quarter?
- On the obverse, to the left of the date, beside Liberty's foot. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1920 are scarcer?
- The 1916 at 52,000, the 1921 at 1,916,000, the 1917, Type 1 at 8,740,000, plus 6 more. So the 1920 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1920 Standing Liberty Quarter coins were made?
- 27,860,000.
What to check on your 1920
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Dates on early Standing Liberty quarters were raised and wore off easily. A clear, full date adds a great deal to a coin from these years.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Judge the grade under good light. Liberty's head is rarely fully struck; "Full Head" (FH) coins command big premiums. The date must be readable for a coin to be worth much.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1920
Output at Philadelphia climbed to 27,860,000 in 1920, from 11 million the year before. The next year it made 1.9 million (1921).
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1920-D (3.6 million) and 1920-S (6.4 million).
Of the 15 Standing Liberty Quarters Philadelphia struck between 1916 and 1930, none was made in bigger numbers. The scarcest Philadelphia issue is the 1916 at 52,000. No Standing Liberty Quarter of the 1920s had a bigger run.
Raised dates and soft strikes (1918 to 1924)
The Type 2 design kept the date raised on a step at Liberty's feet, where it wore away in circulation. Many Standing Liberty quarters from these years now have partial or missing dates. The 1918/7-S overdate, made when a 1917 die was repunched with an 8, is the major variety of the series and shows a faint 7 inside the 8.
Mintages were large in 1918 and 1920, but amid the postwar slump the 1921 run fell to 1,916,000. No quarters were struck in 1922. San Francisco's 1923-S, with 1,360,000 made, is a key. Branch mint coins from Denver and San Francisco often show weak strikes on Liberty's head, so a Full Head example of a 1919-D, 1920-D or 1923-S is far rarer than its mintage suggests.
How to recognize it
Liberty strides through a gateway with a shield raised in one hand and an olive branch in the other. The first coins of 1916 and 1917 show her bare-breasted; later coins cover her in chain mail. The reverse shows an eagle in flight. The date was raised on the step and wore away quickly until it was recessed in 1925. Collectors prize coins with a "full head" of fine detail.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Standing Liberty Quarter (1916–1930) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 27,860,000 |
| 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 | Hermon A. MacNeil |
Other 1920 Standing Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 Standing Liberty Quarter | 27,860,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1920-D Standing Liberty Quarter | 3,586,400 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1920-S Standing Liberty Quarter | 6,380,000 | 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.