Standing Liberty Quarter

Standing Liberty Quarters currently have a melt value of $14.38

The Coinage Act of 1890 gave the director of the mint “permission” to change the design of U.S. coins without requiring prior congressional approval. While this wasn’t required, then U.S. Mint director Robert W. Woolley felt a design change was necessary and, since prior Presidential administrations pushed to have the non-silver coins redesigned and issued, designs to replace the Barber dime, quarter and half dollar were sought. After several design changes, the design for the quarter by Hermon Atkins MacNeil were approved. The Standing Liberty Quarter was issued from 1916 through 1930.

There were three significant design changes during the mintage of the Standing Liberty Quarter. The first design changes occurred in 1917 and affected both sides of the coin. The most major redesign was the redistribution of the 13 stars on the reverse from 7 on the left and 6 on the right (Type 1) to 5 on each side and 3 under the eagle and the relocation of the eagle to accommodate 3 stars underneath. The other design change in 1917 was the addition of chain mail to cover Lady Liberty’s bare breast on the obverse. These changes culminated the Type 2 Standing Liberty Coin. 1925 saw the third design change which then became the Type 3. The area around the date was redesigned since the date wore rapidly on the previous designs.

The Standing Liberty Quarter adhered to government regulation as to metal content. It is 90% silver and 10% copper. They are 24.3 millimeters in diameter and weigh 6.3 grams. They were minted in Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco and the mint mark is located just above and to the left of the date on the obverse. While most Standing Liberty Coins in average circulated condition are in the $20-$50 range (with 1928 and later in the $10 range), there are some rarities. The quarters struck in 1916 and the 1918/7-S doubled die are amongst the rarest and command the highest prices. However, there are a few years/mintages that also command a somewhat higher price than commons do. These are the 1919-D and 1919-S which run in the $150 range and the 1921 and 1923-S Standing Liberty Quarters which are in the $400 range for average circulation quality.

Capped Bust Quarter

The Capped Bust Quarter was issued by the mints in the United States from 1815 until 1838. These quarters have roughly .1808 oz of silver with a melt value of $14.38

Unlike today, U.S. minted coins from the late 1700’s through the early 1900’s had essentially the same design across most denominations. As an example, the Capped Bust coinage introduced by the Chief Engraver of the Mint, William Kneass, included not only the half dollar and quarter, but the dime and half dime as well. Even the large cent and half cent denominations had a very similar design. Perhaps the most popular coin in the Capped Bust design was the Capped Bust quarter which was produced for circulation from 1815 to 1838.

At the time, the government specification for silver coins stated that the coins should be 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper which is the composition of the Capped Bust Quarter. While the silver composition and the weight (6.74 grams) stayed the same throughout the production run, the diameter of the Capped Bust Quarter changed in 1831, going from 27 millimeters (1815 – 1828) to 24.3 millimeters (1831 – 1838). The two types of Capped Bust Quarters are known as “Large Diameter” and “Small Diameter” or “Motto Removed” since the motto was eliminated to reduce the overall diameter of the coin.

With a smaller production run, the large diameter Capped Bust Quarters usually command a higher premium than the smaller diameter. Due to demand and circulation, even though the Capped Bust Quarter was produced from 1815 through 1838, it was only minted in 19 of those years. With an overall mintage of just under 5.5 million coins (just under 1.3 million “Large Diameter” and 4.2 million “Motto Removed” or “Small Diameter”), most Capped Bust Quarters run about 5x over silver spot value with exceptions. Perhaps the most notable exceptions are the overstrikes including the 1823/2 overstrike (starting in the $20,000 range for MS60) and the 1827/3 overstrike (starting in the $110,000+ range for MS60).

Washington Quarter

Of all the U.S. coins, the Washington Quarter has been, in all its incarnations, perhaps the most distributed coin in history. First minted in 1932, the Washington Quarter remained essentially unchanged until 1965 when the metal content was changed. From 1965 until 1998, with the exception of the Bi-centennial reverse coins minted in 1975-1976, the overall design still remained the same. From 1999 until 2008, the Mint produced the 50 states quarters with an updated obverse and reverses featuring each state. Every state was featured as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories with mint runs for each. From 2010 until current, Washington Quarters have the same obverse as the 1999+ quarters but have new reverses featuring some feature of the U.S. These are known as the “America The Beautiful” series which will consist of 56 quarters and will run through 2021.

The overall specifications for the Washington Quarter have changed little over the years. They are all 24.3 millimeters in diameter which hasn’t changed since their introduction in 1932. From 1932 through 1964, the metal composition was the government regulated 90% silver/10% copper and weighed 6.3 grams. From 1965 to current, the “clad” metal content of 75% copper/25% nickel and a 100% copper core has been used. This changed the weight to 5.7 grams.

The Washington Quarter has been pretty much continuously minted in Denver and Philadelphia as well as San Francisco. However, starting in 1968, San Francisco minting runs have been strictly for proofs. Also, while the 90%/10% silver coins were replaced in 1965, 40% silver clad proof bi-centennial quarters were produced in 1975 and 1976 and silver proof Washington Quarters were produced from 1992 to 1998. From 1999 through 2009, 40% silver clad Washington Statehood and Washington Territories Quarters were produced as well. Currently there are Silver Proof Sets featuring the “America The Beautiful” quarters which will continue through 2021. (Keep in mind while proof sets are available in silver, they are also available in clad so be aware.)