Barber Quarter

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Barber Quarter Average ratng: 5,5/10 2537 votes
Barber quarter grading

Barber Quarter Coin Photo Grading. About Good (AG3) F12 (Fine) EF45 (Extremely Fine) MS65. Images courtesy of HA.com. F15 (Fine) VF20 (Very Fine) VF30 (Very Fine). Barber Quarters Design. In November of 1891, Leech approved the designs for all three coins and received President Benjamin Harrison’s approval. Although Barber requested additional time to prepare and test more dies, none was awarded. The new coins were struck on January 2, 1892 at the Philadelphia Mint.

BarberBarber Quarters

Barber Quarters were minted from 1892 to 1916. Barber Quarters were heavily used and largely went into circulation and stayed there, and most are available mainly in low grades.
The three key dates are 1896-S, 1913-S, and the King of all regular issue Barber coinage, the 1901-S. The 1901-S and 1913-S are two of the three lowest mintage dates of 20th century minor U.S. coins, with just 72,664 and 40,000 minted, respectively.

1916 Barber Quarter


When obtaining the Big 3, you must make sure the coins are genuine. While only a few fake 1913-S have been seen, there are plenty of fraudulent 1896-S coins (most with an added 'S'). And fake 1901-S coins outnumber genuine specimens in G to VG grades!
Although the 'Big 3' get most of the attention, many of the other dates in the Barber Quarter series are extremely difficult to find in higher circulated grades, including 1896-O, 1897-O, 1897-S, 1901-O, 1905-O, 1909-O, and 1914-S. As a result, putting together a complete set of Barber Quarters in higher grades is not only expensive, but takes a lot of serious searching and a great deal of luck. Perhaps only 12 to 15 original AU 1909-O quarters exist, making it quite possibly the 2nd or 3rd most difficult coin to obtain in that grade. That's rare.
For information on grading Barber Quarters, please see the Grading Barber Quarters page.
A rarity rating survey was conducted among BCCS members a number of years ago for circulated Barber Quarters. The Society updated the survey with much more detailed information, including more specific grade ranges, additional varieties, etc.
Look at the Survey results for Barber Quarters:

Barber Quarters Census study
Barber Quarters Rarity Ratings
Barber Quarters Varieties survey

Barber Quarter Key Dates

For information on authenticating the 'Big 3' see also:

Barber Half Dollar

Barber

Barber Quarter Dollar

Authenticating the 1896-S Barber Quarter
Authenticating the 1901-S Barber Quarter
Authenticating the 1913-S Barber Quarter
Counterfeit 1901-S quarters - Thoughts and Observations

Barber Quarter Silver Value

The best single reference on this series is The Complete Guide to Barber Quarters, Second Edition, by David Lawrence, with detailed information about the series, and date-by-date analysis. This is an indispensible reference for the Barber Quarter collector.