1925 Standing Liberty Quarter

1925 marked the third year in the Standing Liberty Quarter series that only the Philadelphia mint struck quarters. However, unlike 1916 and 1921, during which small mintages provided a tiny batch of coins that modern coin collectors will clamor to get their hands on, the 1925 Standing Liberty quarter is far more common, with a mintage of 12,280,000 pieces.

This common date is an affordable acquisition for nearly any coin collector, at around $9 to buy an example of that date in a grade of Good-4. However, something far more significant than a high mintage figure marks the 1925 Standing Liberty quarter, and that is the design’s recessed date.

Standing Liberty quarters minted from 1916 through 1924 all had one thing in common: the date on the pedestal upon which Miss Liberty stands tended to wear off very quickly, due to its raised position on the coin. The recessed date proved to be a very good move for the United States Mint, as Standing Liberty quarters minted from 1925 on through the end of the series in 1930 had few issues concerning the date wearing away from the coins, even after many years of heavy circulation.

Those familiar with other areas of United States coin collecting may recognize a similar problem with Buffalo nickels, which also have a raised date. Thus, millions of “dateless” Buffalo nickels exist to this day.