1917 25C Type 2, FH MS(PCGS#5715)

June 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2111

Grade

MS67FH

Price

5,760

Lot Description

A glorious Superb Gem to represent either the type or issue in an advanced numismatic collection. Billowy satin luster blankets both sides of this endearing piece, the surfaces exceptionally attractive with just a blush of pale golden iridescence to dazzling mint brilliance. Both the strike and surface preservation are superior and readily uphold the validity of the impressive grade from PCGS.<p>As 1917 unfolded, technical difficulties arose and persuasive arguments from supporters of the late Anthony Comstock came to the attention of Mint Director F.J.H. von Angel, who relented to pressure from both MacNeil the designer and the unrelenting power of Comstock's Society for the Suppression of Vice and authorized (without Congressional approval whatsoever) to allow for changes to the Type I style of 1917 quarters. MacNeil alleged that the dies, as finished in the Mint, were untrue to his design conception (true enough, with Charles Barber's tinkering of the design elements and placement). Meanwhile a torrent of venom rained down that these initial quarters were obscene as Liberty's breast was exposed, and that all should be recalled and destroyed. Similar pressure from the Society for the Suppression of Vice had accomplished this goal on the elegant $5 Educational bills of 1896, which were recalled due to a similar breast exposure that simply could not be allowed in their prudish world. Troubled design launches were commonplace at the Mint in this period, and the Type II Standing Liberty quarters of 1917 are representative of this fact.<p>The Philadelphia Mint's initial delivery of the new design amounted to 13,880,000 coins. Survivors are plentiful enough to make this a popular issue for type purposes, although generally in grades of MS-65 FH and lower. The offered coin is among the finest seen by PCGS - an undeniable condition rarity and stunning representative of the Type II Standing Liberty quarter design.