Seated Liberty Quarter Value Chart: Every Date From 1838 to 1891

The dates to check first

These are the lowest-mintage Seated quarters struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.

1. 1873-CC Seated Liberty Quarter, No Arrows: 4,000 made.
2. 1886 Seated Liberty Quarter: 5,000 made.
3. 1884 Seated Liberty Quarter: 8,000 made.
4. 1870-CC Seated Liberty Quarter: 8,340 made.
5. 1887 Seated Liberty Quarter: 10,000 made.
6. 1888 Seated Liberty Quarter: 10,001 made.

Every seated liberty quarter by date and mint

Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.

The series in 6 stages

Seated quarters before the 1853 weight cut (1838 to 1852)

Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty quarter replaced the Capped Bust late in 1838. The first coins have no drapery at Liberty's elbow. Extra folds of cloth were added in 1840, the same year the New Orleans Mint struck its first quarters in both styles. New Orleans then made quarters in most years of the 1840s, with the mint mark below the eagle.

Arrows mark the lighter quarter (1853 to 1855)

The Act of February 21, 1853 cut the quarter from 6.68 to 6.22 grams so that silver coins would stay in circulation. Arrows were placed beside the date and rays around the eagle to show the change. Philadelphia struck more than 15.2 million in 1853, by far its largest quarter mintage up to that point. An 1853/4 variety shows traces of an earlier digit.

Heavy output and Civil War hoarding (1856 to 1865)

With the lighter standard in place, quarters circulated freely. Philadelphia struck about 7.3 million in 1856, 9.6 million in 1857 and 7.4 million in 1858. The 1856-S includes a large S over small S variety. New Orleans made its last quarters of the period in 1860 and did not strike them again until 1891.

IN GOD WE TRUST joins the reverse (1866 to 1872)

In 1866 the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added on a ribbon above the eagle. Silver still did not circulate in the East, so Philadelphia struck only 16,800 business strikes that year and similar small numbers through 1869. San Francisco carried more of the load, but even its mintages stayed below 100,000 in every year of the period.

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.

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.

Decade by decade

• 1830s: 2 issues, 957,146 coins. Scarcest: 1838 (466,000).
• 1840s: 18 issues, 8.2 million coins. Scarcest: 1840-O, With Drapery (43,000).
• 1850s: 25 issues, 64 million coins. Scarcest: 1853, No Arrows (44,200).
• 1860s: 20 issues, 7.9 million coins. Scarcest: 1869 (16,000).
• 1870s: 28 issues, 67 million coins. Scarcest: 1873-CC, No Arrows (4,000).
• 1880s: 11 issues, 1.3 million coins. Scarcest: 1886 (5,000).
• 1890s: 4 issues, 6.3 million coins. Scarcest: 1891-O (68,000).

Where to find the mint mark

• 1838 to 1891: On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark.

Identifying and grading Seated quarters

The word LIBERTY on Liberty's shield is the classic test: fully visible in Fine, partly worn in Very Good, gone in Good.

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.

What the value bands mean

• Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
• Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
• Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
• Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
• Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.

Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.