Standing Liberty quarter value explained: 90% silver content, Type 1 vs Type 2, the 1916 key date, Full Head, and which dates beat melt.
What Is a Standing Liberty Quarter?
A Standing Liberty quarter is the 90% silver U.S. quarter struck from 1916 through 1930. Sculptor Hermon A. MacNeil designed it to replace the Barber quarter, and the United States Mint put the new type into production late in 1916. The series ran through 1930 and was itself replaced by the Washington quarter in 1932. No quarters were dated 1931, and the Mint issued no 1922-dated quarter. Every coin in the series is a quarter dollar with a reeded edge.
The obverse shows Liberty standing in a gateway, holding an olive branch in one hand and a shield in the other. The reverse carries a flying eagle. The coin measures 24.3 millimeters in diameter and weighs 6.25 grams — the same specifications as later 90% silver Washington quarters, including every 1964 quarter. That shared alloy is why both types contain the same silver even though they look nothing alike. MacNeil’s high-relief design is also why dates wear off and why strike quality became a specialty of this series.
People who inherit old silver often meet this type as a worn, gray quarter with Liberty’s figure still faintly visible. Others pull one from a parent’s coin folder and want to know whether they have a common silver piece or something scarcer. This guide explains Type 1 versus Type 2, where to find the mint mark, which dates are actually scarce, what Full Head means, and how silver melt sets the floor for the rest of the series.
The honest starting point is that most Standing Liberty quarters you will encounter are later dates in circulated grades, and those coins trade near their silver melt. The 1916 is the key date of the series. Full Head is a strike designation rather than a separate coin type. A readable date is the first filter that separates a melt coin from a piece worth a closer look.
Type 1 vs Type 2 (the 1917 redesign)
The Standing Liberty series has two distinct design types, and collectors treat them as separate coins. Type 1 was struck in 1916 and early 1917. On those coins, Liberty’s right breast is exposed — MacNeil’s original conception of a classical figure stepping through a gateway, olive branch in one hand and shield in the other. Public objection led the Mint to change the design partway through 1917. Type 2, used from mid-1917 through 1930, covers Liberty in a coat of chainmail.
The reverse changed at the same time. On Type 1, the flying eagle has no stars beneath it. On Type 2, three stars were added below the eagle. The chainmail on the obverse and the three stars on the reverse are the fastest ways to tell the types apart, even on a worn coin. If Liberty is in chainmail and three stars sit under the eagle, it is Type 2. If the figure is uncovered and the field below the eagle is empty, it is Type 1.
The transition year is 1917, and both types exist for that date at all three mints — Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. That gives collectors six distinct 1917 issues: Type 1 and Type 2 from each facility. A 1917 Standing Liberty quarter is therefore not one coin. You have to identify the type before you can identify what you have. Both types should be sorted separately from a mixed group rather than lumped together as a single date.
Type 2 is the design that ran for the remaining years of the series, so it is what most people find. Type 1 is confined to 1916 and early 1917, which makes any Type 1 worth a second look even before you read the date. The 1916 is always Type 1 because it is the first year. Distinguishing the two types is one of the easier identifications in American numismatics once you know the chainmail and the stars.
Silver Content and the Melt Floor
Every Standing Liberty quarter is 90% silver and 10% copper and contains 0.18084 troy ounces of pure silver. That figure is the same as later 90% Washington quarters, including the 1964 quarter. It follows from the coin’s specified weight of 6.25 grams and its .900 fine alloy. Standing Liberty quarter silver content does not change with date, mint, type, or grade. A heavily worn 1929 and a sharp 1917 Type 1 hold the same amount of silver; what changes is the collector premium sitting on top of that metal.
To find the melt floor, multiply 0.18084 by the current silver price per troy ounce. Because silver trades continuously, that product changes throughout the day, which is why this guide does not print a dollar figure that would be stale within hours. Our live silver price page tracks spot in real time and is the right place to check before you sell or buy any of these coins. A dealer pricing common-date Standing Liberty quarters will typically start from that melt calculation and look next for dates and strikes that deserve more.
Common later dates, especially Philadelphia issues from 1925 through 1930, trade near junk-silver melt in circulated grades. Junk silver is the trade term for circulated 90% coins valued for metal content rather than rarity — not a comment on the coin’s quality. If you have worn Standing Liberty quarters with readable dates in the late 1920s and no mint marks, expect them to be priced close to melt. Our junk silver coins guide explains how 90% silver is priced by melt and by face-value multiples.
Melt is a floor, not a ceiling. The 1916, the 1918/7-S overdate, the scarce dates discussed below, and Full Head mint-state coins can be worth substantially more than their silver content. The 1964 quarter value guide is the natural next stop if you also have Washington quarters in the same jar, because every 1964 and earlier Washington quarter shares this same 0.18084-ounce silver allotment. Sorting the two designs is a visual question; valuing the common dates in either series starts with the same melt math.
Where to Find the Mint Mark and Date
The mint mark on a Standing Liberty quarter sits on the obverse, to the left of the date. That placement is easy to miss if you are used to Washington quarters, where the mint mark lived on the reverse for most of the silver years. A coin with no mint mark was struck at Philadelphia. A D indicates Denver. An S indicates San Francisco. Because the letter sits next to the date, wear that takes the date often takes the mint mark with it, which is why a fully readable date-and-mint combination is the first value filter.
MacNeil placed the date on a raised area of the obverse, and that high point takes the brunt of circulation. After years in pockets and cash drawers, the numerals can flatten until they are faint or gone. A readable date is the identity of the coin. Without it, you cannot tell a common 1929 Philadelphia from a 1916 or a 1923-S. Dealers sorting a batch will set aside any piece with a clear date and mint mark and treat fully dateless examples as silver by weight.
A dateless Standing Liberty quarter is still 90% silver. Unlike a dateless Buffalo nickel, which has no precious metal to fall back on, this coin keeps its melt floor even when the date has vanished. That is the honest value of a smooth, undated example: 0.18084 troy ounces times the live silver spot. It is not worthless, but it is not a key date either. Do not acid-treat or tool a worn date in an attempt to restore it. Altering the surface destroys collector value and does not create a key date.
When you examine a coin, start with the obverse under good light. Read the date first, then look immediately to its left for a D or an S. If the area is blank, it is Philadelphia. Then turn the coin over and confirm Type 1 or Type 2 by the stars below the eagle. That short sequence — date, mint mark, type — is enough to decide whether a coin is a melt piece or a candidate for a closer look at key dates and Full Head.
Key Dates: 1916, 1918/7-S, 1921, 1923-S, 1927-S
The 1916 Standing Liberty quarter is the key date of the series and one of the classic twentieth-century United States key dates. It is the first year of issue, and only 52,000 were minted. The coins that entered commerce wore hard, and even heavily worn examples are scarce. Any 1916 with a readable date deserves careful handling and, in most cases, professional grading. Because 1916 exists only as Type 1, a first-year coin will show the exposed Liberty figure and no stars below the eagle. Authentication by PCGS or NGC is the prudent path before a sale.
The 1918/7-S overdate is a major rarity. On this variety, the 8 in the date was punched over a 7 from the previous year’s working die, leaving traces of the underlying 7 visible beneath the 8 under magnification. Overdates were a known byproduct of die reuse in this era, but the 1918/7-S is among the most important in the quarter series. Identifying it takes a loupe and a clear look at the last digit of the date. A genuine overdate in any collectible grade is a specialist coin, not a melt coin.
Three other dates are recognized as scarce, especially in higher grades: the 1921, the 1923-S, and the 1927-S. None of these is in the 1916 class of rarity, but all three are meaningfully harder to find in nice condition than the common Philadelphia issues around them. A 1921 with a sharp, full date, a 1923-S that still shows Liberty’s details, or a 1927-S in a higher circulated grade can carry a real numismatic premium over melt. These are the coins worth pulling from a mixed group even when the rest is ordinary silver.
Everything else in the series, particularly 1925 through 1930 from Philadelphia, is common in circulated grades and trades near junk-silver melt. That is the market’s honest ranking, not a dismissal of the design. Standing Liberty quarter key dates are a short list: the 1916 first, the 1918/7-S next, then the 1921, 1923-S, and 1927-S. If your coins fall outside that list and are worn, the live silver price and the 0.18084-ounce melt math are the right valuation tools.
Full Head: Why Strike Quality Matters
Full Head is a strike designation, not a date, not a type, and not a grade by itself. On a well-struck Standing Liberty quarter, Liberty’s head shows three distinct leaves in the crown and a visible ear hole. When those details are fully present, grading services may assign the Full Head, or FH, designation. It describes how completely the die transferred MacNeil’s high-relief portrait onto that particular coin. Many Standing Liberty quarters, including some that never circulated, were struck from dies that never fully filled the head. Those coins can grade mint state and still lack Full Head.
Full Head examples command large premiums in mint state because they are scarce relative to ordinary strikes of the same date. Collectors want the design as MacNeil intended it, and a sharp head with three leaves and a clear ear hole is the visual proof of that strike. The premium is largest on mint-state coins. A circulated piece may show a relatively strong head simply because it started that way, but Full Head as a market designation is a mint-state conversation. Do not assume a worn coin with a visible ear is a Full Head in the sense buyers pay for.
Grade and strike are related but not identical, which is why the coin grading scale matters for this series. The Sheldon 1-70 scale describes wear and surface preservation. Full Head describes whether the head was fully struck in the first place. A coin can be MS-64 with a flat head, or it can be MS-64 Full Head, and those are different coins in the market. Our coin grading scale guide explains how circulated and uncirculated grades are applied and how strike designations sit alongside the numeric grade.
PCGS and NGC both recognize Full Head, and certification is the practical way to establish it for a valuable coin. Buyers paying a Full Head premium want the holder. Lone Star Coins is a PCGS and NGC Authorized Dealer and regularly sees Standing Liberty quarters come in mixed with other 90% silver. If a coin in your group has a sharp, complete head and little or no wear, it is worth pulling aside before the rest of the batch is priced as junk silver.
Selling Standing Liberty Quarters
Lone Star Coins buys Standing Liberty quarters daily in San Antonio. Common dates are priced at live silver melt. Key dates and Full Head candidates are pulled from every batch rather than being folded into the junk-silver price. That sorting is the difference between a fair offer and an offer that misses the 1916, the overdate, or a mint-state strike hiding in a roll of worn later dates. Same-day payment is available once the coins are identified and the offer is accepted.
The shop is at 2622 NW Loop 410 in San Antonio. Walk-in appraisals are free, and no appointment is required. Lone Star Coins is a PCGS and NGC Authorized Dealer and has been buying and selling coins in San Antonio for more than forty years. Staff will read dates and mint marks, separate Type 1 from Type 2, check for Full Head candidates, and tell you which pieces are melt coins and which deserve a numismatic bid.
A practical way to prepare a group is to lay the coins obverse-up and sort by whether the date is readable. Set aside anything dated 1916, 1918, 1921, 1923, or 1927, any Type 1, and any coin that looks uncirculated. Those are the pieces that need individual attention. The remaining circulated later dates can be valued together from the live silver price page using 0.18084 troy ounces per coin. Our page on free coin appraisals in San Antonio covers what to expect when you bring coins in.
Whether you have one inherited quarter or a full folder, the evaluation is the same checklist: silver first, then date and mint mark, then type, then strike. Most later dates are melt. The 1916 is the key. Full Head is a strike designation that can change the number on a mint-state coin. Bring the coins in as they are — do not clean them — and the staff will do the rest.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a standing liberty quarter worth?+
A Standing Liberty quarter’s worth starts with 0.18084 troy ounces of silver multiplied by the current spot price, which you can check on our live silver price page. That melt floor is what common later dates in circulated grades actually trade for. Coins with a readable 1916 date, the 1918/7-S overdate, scarce dates such as 1921, 1923-S, and 1927-S, and mint-state Full Head examples can be worth substantially more. Condition, type, and strike all matter once you are above melt. Lone Star Coins offers free in-store appraisals in San Antonio if you want a precise assessment of specific coins.
Are standing liberty quarters silver?+
Yes. Every Standing Liberty quarter is 90% silver and 10% copper and contains 0.18084 troy ounces of pure silver — the same allotment as later 90% Washington quarters, including every 1964 quarter. There are no clad Standing Liberty quarters. Even a heavily worn or dateless example still contains that silver, which is why melt remains the floor for common dates.
What is the rarest standing liberty quarter?+
The 1916 is the key date of the series: first year, only 52,000 minted, and scarce even when heavily worn. The 1918/7-S overdate is a major rarity in its own right and is the variety specialists hunt for. Among regular-issue dates, the 1921, 1923-S, and 1927-S are the scarce coins, especially in higher grades. Full Head mint-state coins of otherwise common dates can also be scarce as strikes even when the date itself is not.
What is a Type 1 standing liberty quarter?+
A Type 1 Standing Liberty quarter is the original 1916-to-early-1917 design, on which Liberty’s right breast is exposed and the reverse eagle has no stars beneath it. Type 2, used from mid-1917 through 1930, covers Liberty in chainmail and adds three stars below the eagle. Both types exist for 1917 at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Type 1 is confined to 1916 and early 1917, so any Type 1 is worth identifying before you assume the coin is a common later date.
What does Full Head mean on a standing liberty quarter?+
Full Head is a strike designation. It means Liberty’s head shows three distinct leaves in the crown and a visible ear hole, evidence that the high-relief portrait struck up fully. It is not a grade by itself and not a different coin type. Grading services may assign FH on mint-state coins that meet that standard, and those examples command large premiums over ordinary strikes of the same date. A circulated coin with a relatively clear head is not automatically a Full Head in the market sense.
Where is the mint mark on a standing liberty quarter?+
The mint mark is on the obverse, to the left of the date. No letter means Philadelphia, D means Denver, and S means San Francisco. Because the mark sits beside the date on a raised area, wear that removes the date often removes the mint mark as well. Always check the obverse first; do not look on the reverse the way you would on a silver Washington quarter.
Where can I sell standing liberty quarters in San Antonio?+
Lone Star Coins, at 2622 NW Loop 410 in San Antonio, buys Standing Liberty quarters ranging from common circulated dates at live silver melt to key dates and Full Head candidates. Walk-in appraisals are free, no appointment is needed, and same-day payment is available. Lone Star Coins is a PCGS and NGC Authorized Dealer and has been buying and selling coins in San Antonio for more than forty years.