1876 Twenty-Cent Piece
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 14,640 made
- Mintage
- 14,640
- 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 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1876 sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
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 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece rare?
- Yes. Only 14,640 were made, 2nd lowest of the 5 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1876 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 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark.
- How many 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece coins were made?
- 14,640.
What to check on your 1876
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- 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 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece Proof (1,260 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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1876
Philadelphia made 14,640 in 1876, down from 36,910 in 1875. It turned out to be Philadelphia's last Twenty-Cent Piece for circulation.
1876-CC came to 10,000, so neither mint's 1876 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1875 (36,910) and the 1875-CC (133,290).
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 1876
The United States celebrated its centennial. The twenty-cent piece was struck for circulation for the last time. The quarter and half dollar were struck in very large numbers.
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 | 1876 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 14,640 |
| 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 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece | 14,640 | Circulation strike | 0.1447 oz |
| 1876 Twenty-Cent Piece Proof | 1,260 | Proof | 0.1447 oz |
| 1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece | 10,000 | 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.