1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,155,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,155,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 5 g
- Diameter
- 22 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 1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece 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 1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece rare?
- Somewhat. 1,155,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1447 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1875 Twenty-Cent Piece?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- How many 1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece coins were made?
- 1,155,000.
What to check on your 1875-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 1875 (36,910 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 1875 Twenty-Cent Piece Proof (2,790 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. LIBERTY on the shield is raised on this coin, so it wears quickly. Check the eagle's breast and the stars.
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 1875-S
1875 was the first year of the Twenty-Cent Piece. San Francisco struck 1,155,000 of them. It turned out to be San Francisco's last Twenty-Cent Piece for circulation.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1875 (36,910) and 1875-CC (133,290). In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1876 (14,640) and the 1876-CC (10,000).
The short life of the twenty-cent piece (1875 to 1878)
The Act of March 3, 1875 created the twenty-cent piece, promoted by Senator John P. Jones of Nevada to use western silver and ease change-making in the West. William Barber's design closely resembled the Seated Liberty quarter, but the coin is smaller with a plain edge and LIBERTY raised on the shield. It weighed exactly 5 grams. The public confused it with the quarter almost at once.
San Francisco struck 1,155,000 in 1875, by far the largest issue, while Carson City made 133,290 and Philadelphia 36,910. In 1876 Philadelphia made 14,640 and Carson City 10,000. Nearly all the 1876-CC coins were melted, leaving only a small number known. The 1877 and 1878 were struck only as proofs before Congress ended the coin in 1878.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1875
The twenty-cent piece was introduced in 1875. Its size and Liberty Seated design were too close to the quarter, so the public rejected it almost immediately.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock in a design very close to the quarter of the same era, which caused endless confusion. Two details tell it apart: the twenty-cent piece has a plain edge rather than a reeded one and the word LIBERTY on the shield is raised rather than sunk. The reverse shows an eagle with TWENTY CENTS below.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Twenty-Cent Piece (1875–1878) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1875 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,155,000 |
| Face value | 20¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Diameter | 22 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Silver content | 0.1447 troy oz (4.500 g) |
| Designer | William Barber |
Other 1875 Twenty-Cent Piece issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1875 Twenty-Cent Piece | 36,910 | Circulation strike | 0.1447 oz |
| 1875 Twenty-Cent Piece Proof | 2,790 | Proof | 0.1447 oz |
| 1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece | 1,155,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1447 oz |
| 1875-S Twenty-Cent Piece Proof | 12 | Proof | 0.1447 oz |
| 1875-CC Twenty-Cent Piece | 133,290 | Circulation strike | 0.1447 oz |
Mintage: Twenty-cent piece (United States) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.