United States 1872-S quarter dollar
This specimen was lot 2638 in Stack's Bowers August 2020 auction, where it sold for $3,360. The lot description noted, "1872-S Liberty Seated Quarter. Briggs-1A, the only known dies. EF Details--Repaired (PCGS). Evenly toned light pewter gray on both sides, this boldly defined quarter has much to offer the collector of this challenging series. Several small areas of smoothing account for the qualifier, including above and below the date and in the right field of the reverse. Even so, there are no distractions to the naked eye and some original surfaces remain in the protected areas. As the rarest San Francisco Mint quarter of the Liberty Seated with Motto type, this issue is always in high demand in any grade, and we expect many interested bidders." The Seated Liberty quarter was struck 1838-91 and was modified several times during its life. This subtype, with the motto above the eagle, was struck 1866-73. The end of the Civil War meant that specie came out of hiding and the mint did not need to make so many dimes, quarters and halves. Issues of this period are generally small, and the 1872-S is very scarce, verging on rare. The weight was adjusted to 6.25 g in 1873, and many nonconforming coins in mint stocks were likely melted.
Recorded Mintage: 83,000.
Specification: 6.22 g, 0.900 fine silver, .180 troy oz ASW, 24.3 mm diameter, reeded edge, designed by Christian Gobrecht.
Catalog reference: Briggs-1A, KM 98.
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- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
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