1917 Standing Liberty Quarter

About the Standing Liberty Quarter

The Standing Liberty Quarter was first minted in 1916 and was used in United States circulation from 1916 to 1930. This silver quarter was designed by Hermon MacNeil, who also designed the Winged Liberty Head dime. It was one of the first US coins to feature a woman’s figure with the obverse showing Liberty standing in full figure with an upraised shield ready to protect the country. For the reverse, the coin was designed to show an eagle in flight with a sky and clouds in the background.

With a total mintage of over 250 million coins, the Standing Liberty Quarter is not hard to come by. The range of condition (grades) of the coins vary from common circulated to uncirculated specimens. The circulated pieces usually carry a higher premium than the higher grade uncirculated pieces. While the condition of the coin is an important factor towards its value, a key date coin is also something to look for when collecting these coins.

Two key date Standing Liberty Quarters can be found in the 1925-S and the 1930 coin with a mintage of only 52,000 and 408,000 respectively. It is estimated that only around 4,000 of the 1925-S coins remain in uncirculated condition, making it by far the most sought after Standing Liberty Quarter.

For a coin collector looking to get started in collecting Standing Liberty Quarters, there are several options that are priced low, enabling them to begin their collection without having to pay top dollar for a key date coin. Common dates between 1916 and 1927 can be found in circulated condition for around 10-15 dollars and Uncirculated common date coins can be found for around 25 dollars.

The Standing Liberty Quarter is a great coin to collect and the varied mintages over the period of issue makes it an ideal subject for the beginner collector. With luck and patience, it is possible to find some great condition coins to add to a collection.

The 1917 Standing Liberty Quarter coin, has a total mintage of 8,740,000, struck at the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania mint, and engraved by Hermon Atkins MacNeil. Made of silver (.900) (.100 copper), weighing 6.25 grams, with a diameter of 24.3 mm, and a thickness of 1.75 mm, and featuring a reeded edge.

The obverse is standing liberty, looking over her left shoulder right breast exposed, holding a shield in the left hand and an olive branch in the right, 13 stars on the sides. It reads “LIBERTY IN GOD WE TRVST M 1916”. The reverse is eagle flying right, 13 stars to either side. It reads “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA E PLVRIBVS VNVM QUARTER·DOLLAR”.