Many collectors know Standing Liberty Quarters as a popular series that was designed by Hermon A. MacNeil and was in production from 1916 through 1930. But what is often glossed over when surveying the series as a monolithic grouping are the subtypes that were produced within its 15-year run. There are three subtypes in the series; Type 1 and Type 2 are distinguishable by changes to Miss Liberty’s attire on the obverse and repositioning of the flying eagle and surrounding stars on the reverse. However, Type 3, also categorized as Type 2B, incorporated a crucial change that allowed the coin’s date on the obverse to remain clearly visible even after being subjected to heavy wear in circulation.
The recessed-date Standing Liberty Quarters struck from 1925 through the end of the series in 1930 addressed one of the main technical issues that had affected the coin since its debut. One of the main problems earlier issues in the series frequently suffered was complete obliteration of the date through circulation wear; the reason for this was how prominently, or proud, the date stood on the coin. From 1916 through 1924, the date was situated on the platform upon which Miss Liberty stands, placing it in a spot that was highly vulnerable to wear. This led to the many so-called “dateless” Standing Liberty Quarters that proliferate in the junk silver and jewelry trades.
Beginning in 1925, the coin’s date was recessed into a modified platform under Miss Liberty, and this is easily noticeable when comparing, say, a 1924 Standing Liberty Quarter to one bearing the 1925 date; the earlier coin shows Miss Liberty standing on what appears to be a solid platform, while the latter issue reveals the patriotic figure standing upon what looks more like a thick, horizontal line hovering above the date. The differences were vast enough to provide the date adequate shelter from heavy circulation wear, allowing that feature to remain plainly visible even on examples that exhibit extensive wear.
The 1925 Standing Liberty Quarters were produced only at the Philadelphia Mint and struck to the tune of 12,280,000 pieces. Examples in G4 trade for around $20, while those in F12 take $30. Prices begin working substantially upward in XF40, where examples trade for about $75; MS63 specimens fetch $360. Examples bearing the coveted Full Head detail, noted with the grade designation FH, are scarce in all grades and take approximately $625 in MS63FH. The record price for a 1925 Standing Liberty Quarter was hammered in 2013, when an example graded PCGS MS67+FH notched $22,913 in a Stack’s Bowers Galleries auction.