20 Rare Quarters Worth Some Serious Money

Some quarters are much more valuable than 25 cents. Case in point: These 20 rare quarters are worth more than $7.5 million combined.

Rare Quarters Worth Money

Valuable quarters — Some quarters are worth a lot of money.

The quarter was established by the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, along with four other silver coin denominations: half dimes, dimes, half dollars and silver dollars. These coins were gradually rolled out, with dimes and quarters first appearing in 1796. Because of low demand, quarters were not produced again until 1804.

There have been seven basic designs of the U.S. quarter. Most of these are known by the design on the obverse of the coin, though one, the Barber, is instead named for its designer, Charles Barber. In 1932, a commemorative quarter was designed to celebrate the 200th birthday of George Washington. The popularity of the coin ensured its longevity. This design continues on the obverse of quarters today.

While commemorative quarters have inspired many to collect coins, value is determined by rarity and condition, so the most valuable quarters include several of the oldest that were kept out of circulation, long before coin collecting became a popular hobby.

These 20 quarters are worth a combined $7.9 million.

20. 1927-S Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter

Sold at auction:$175,000

Bottom Line: 1927-S Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter

With only 396,000 ever produced, the 1927-S had the lowest mintage of the Standing Liberty quarters.

It is estimated that about 3,900 of these were Full Heads. Today, 65 Full Heads are known, but only two are finer than this one, which is why it's a valued collector's item.

19. 1919-S Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter

Sold at auction:$235,000

Bottom Line: 1919-S Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter

1919-S Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter is Worth Money

While 1,836,000 quarters were produced in San Francisco in 1919, the date on many of these has worn off.

Very few remain in mint condition, and only three others are of equal quality to this one.

18. 1901-S Barber Quarter

Sold at auction: $258,500

Bottom Line: 1901-S Barber Quarter

The San Francisco Mint produced 72,664 quarters in 1901, and most of them were placed in circulation.

With regional circulation heavy in the West, very few of these coins survive in mint condition, with only two certified mint by PCGS and two Superb Gems by NGC.

This one is the lower-rated of the two Gem coins.

17. 1927-S Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter

Sold at auction:$258,500

Bottom Line: 1927-S Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter

The 1927-S is one of the rarest of the Standing Liberty quarters. These coins possessed some of the weakest strikes, due to the complexity of the design, which resulted in dies being clogged with metal shavings.

Quarters produced at the San Francisco Mint had more quality control issues with this coin than other mints, resulting in fewer coins being produced there. It is estimated that less than 1 percent of the 396,000 mintage was struck well enough to provide details in Liberty’s head to warrant the designation "Full Head."

This coin is one of the two finest specimens of its kind.

16. 1844 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter

1844 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter is worth money to collectors

Sold at auction: $322,000

Bottom Line: 1844 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter

This is the only certified coin of its kind.

It is believed that there may be two other examples.

One of them is reportedly held by the Smithsonian Institution and one is in an original proof set.

15. 1840-O Seated Liberty No Drapery Quarter

Sold at auction: $329,000

Bottom Line: 1840-O Seated Liberty No Drapery Quarter

The No Drapery design was a short series of quarters, from 1838 to 1840.

The New Orleans Mint produced 382,200 of these before the design was changed to add an extra fold of drapery under Liberty’s right elbow. Most of these coins were heavily circulated. Few remain in mint condition as this one is.

The coin is of the Briggs 1-A variety, characterized by a recut 8 in the date and the placement of the mintmark between the A and R in QUARTER.

14. 1841 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter

1841 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter, a quarter worth collecting

Sold at auction: $345,000

Bottom Line: 1841 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter

This coin is the finest example of only four proof quarters known to exist from this year.

One of them is held at the Smithsonian Institution.

13. 1828 B-3 25/5/50 Error Reverse Capped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction: $352,500

Bottom Line: 1828 B-3 25/5/50 Error Reverse Capped Bust Quarter

Quarters produced in 1828 had four possible die combinations. This coin exhibits the rarest of those four.

The obverse is that of the 1828 B-1 and B-2 marriages while the reverse had last been used for the 1822 B-2 variety. Since the 1822 die had been stored for so long, some of the coins produced show die rust.

This one does not. This coin may be the finest certified of the B-3 die marriage and the finest 1828 quarter overall.

12. 1871-CC Liberty Seated Quarter

Sold at auction: $352,500

Bottom Line: 1871-CC Liberty Seated Quarter

Part of a 10,890 coin mintage at the Carson City Mint, both 1s on the date of this coin have evidence of repunching.

The coin was produced using the same reverse die used for Carson City quarters from 1870 through 1873. The surface of the coin is pristine, the reserve is fully struck, and the obverse is almost as fine.

This coin is one of only three mint condition coins of this date known to exist and is considered to be the most valuable 1871-CC Seated quarter.

11. 1873-CC No Arrows Liberty Seated Quarter

Sold at auction: $376,000

Bottom Line: 1873-CC No Arrows Liberty Seated Quarter

There were 4,000 coins minted in Carson City in January 1873, but due to the Mint Act of 1873, which increased the weight of silver coinage, most were melted before they could enter circulation.

This is one of only three mint condition quarters of that year. Only five of these coins in any condition are known to exist.

10. Proof 1838 Seated Liberty Quarter

Sold at auction: $381,875

Bottom Line: Proof 1838 Seated Liberty Quarter

The Seated Liberty design was introduced when Secretary of the Treasury Levi Woodbury requested 20 samples in September 1838.

It’s believed that these coins were then distributed to congressmen and other influential individuals. This is the only known proof quarter of this year and is in excellent mint condition. It previously sold at auction in 1815 and 1957.

Not only is the 1838 quarter the first in the No Drapery series, but it also was the first year any Seated Liberty quarters were produced.

9. 1818 B-8 Capped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction: $381,875

Bottom Line: 1818 B-8 Capped Bust Quarter

A fire at the Mint in 1816 led to renovations and changes in production. In 1817, the first proof coins were produced (pennies only), and the first proof quarters appeared in 1818.

There were very few proof quarters produced and only two are known to exist today. The other one resides at the Smithsonian Institute.

This coin is the finer of the two.

8. 1823/2 Proof Capped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction: $396,562.50

Bottom Line: 1823/2 Proof Capped Bust Quarter

The 1823 quarter was overdated. The number 2 can be seen under the number 3 in the date.

The coin is also unusual in that the reverse image is incomplete. It is believed that Chief Engraver Robert Scot, who was at the late stage of his career, was unable to complete it. He chose to overdate the previous year’s obverse. This was the last quarter engraved by Scot, who died in November of that year.

This coin is the only proof quarter of its year certified by PCGS.

7. 1805 B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction: $402,500

Bottom Line: 1805 B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

By 1805, the Mint had only produced two runs of quarters, in 1796 and 1804. In 1805 production increased more than 20-fold, with a mintage of 121,394. There were four known varieties.

This one is the B-2. This particular coin is special because it has a "mint frost." This luster is typically seen in later coins, while other quarters of the time had a satin finish.

This one’s considered the finest graded quarter from 1805.

6. 1796 Proof-Like B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction: $411,250

Bottom Line: 1796 Proof-Like B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

The first quarter ever minted, the 1796 quarter featured a Draped Bust obverse and Small Eagle reverse.

There were 5,894 quarters produced in the second quarter of 1796 with an additional 252 minted in February 1797. It is believed that the Browning-2 quarters were minted first.

This coin has been referred to as "proof-like" due to the definition of the strike.

5. 1827/3/2 Capped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction: $411,250

Bottom Line: 1827/3/2 Capped Bust Quarter

The 1827 quarter is a rarity in that each one is an overdate — a 3 is visible beneath the 7.

Originally 4,000 coins were struck, but the Mint decided to restrike the coin sometime before 1860, using an 1827 obverse die with an 1819 reverse. The original coins can be identified by the curl-based 2 (rather than the flat-based 2 of the 1819). Only nine examples of the 1827 Original Capped Bust quarter exist. (One is at the Smithsonian.)

This coin rates in the top four.

4. 1807 B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction:$411,250

Bottom Line: 1807 B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

The 1807 quarter features unique obverse and reverse dies that weren’t used for any other quarter in the early quarter series.

A crack can be seen in each of the sides, but both dies shattered in later die states. It appears that only one-fourth of existing 1807 quarters were produced by the B-2 die pair.

This is the finest 1807 B-2 quarter and the second-finest rated 1807 quarter ever rated.

3. 1850 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter

Sold at auction: $460,000

Bottom Line: 1850 Proof Liberty Seated Quarter

It appears that only two or three 1850 Proof Quarters exist.

This one is the highest quality known.

2. 1839 Proof Seated Liberty Quarter

Sold at auction: $517,500

Bottom Line: 1839 Proof Seated Liberty Quarter

This appears to be the only coin of its type.

Proof coins before 1858 were rare, and this was especially true of coins minted in 1839.

While a small number of proof coins were minted in 1838 when this new design was introduced, there’s no record of such proofs created in 1839, leading some to believe this may have been the only one produced.

1. 1796 B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

Sold at auction: $1,527,500

Bottom Line: 1796 B-2 Draped Bust Quarter

The Philadelphia Mint produced 6,146 quarters for that year. Of these, it’s estimated that about 700 still exist, with only about 75 in mint condition.

This particular mint-condition coin was struck from the B-2 die pair, which were produced before the B-1 pieces. There is evidence of double striking on both sides.

This coin was one of the first quarters ever produced at the Philadelphia Mint.