1896-S Barber Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 188,039 made
- Mintage
- 188,039
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.25 g
- Diameter
- 24.3 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1896-S Barber Quarter worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1896-S sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1896-S Barber Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 188,039 were made, 3rd lowest of the 74 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1896-S Barber Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1808 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1896 Barber Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle's tail. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1896 are scarcer?
- The 1901-S at 72,664. So the 1896-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1896-S Barber Quarter coins were made?
- 188,039.
What to check on your 1896-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1896-O (1.5 million made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1896 Barber Quarter Proof (762 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the headband is the benchmark: a full, sharp LIBERTY is required for Very Fine and above.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1896-S
Production at San Francisco fell off a cliff in 1896. Only 188,039 were made, against 1.8 million the year before. That drop is why the 1896-S is the one people look for. The next year it made 542,229 (1897-S).
The other mints made far more that year: 1896 alone came to 3.9 million, roughly 21 for every 1896-S. If you're checking a pile of 1896 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1914-S (264,000) and the 1913 (484,000).
Only the 1913-S and the 1901-S have a lower mintage among San Francisco's 21 Barber Quarters. No Barber Quarter of the 1890s had a smaller run.
The San Francisco keys (1896 to 1901)
San Francisco's Barber quarter mintages fell sharply in these years. The 1896-S (188,039) and the 1901-S (72,664) are the two keys of the period. The 1901-S is the rarest regular Barber quarter in any grade. The 1897-S and 1899-S, with 542,229 and 708,000 struck, are also scarce in better condition.
Philadelphia, by contrast, struck between 8 and 12.6 million a year from 1897 to 1901, so Philadelphia quarters of these dates are common. Altered mint marks are a concern for the 1896-S and 1901-S, since an S can be added to a common Philadelphia coin. Check the mint mark under magnification for seams or tool marks. On worn coins the headband goes smooth, so a complete LIBERTY marks a coin of Fine or better.
How to recognize it
Charles Barber's Liberty faces right wearing a cap, a laurel wreath and a headband inscribed LIBERTY, with IN GOD WE TRUST above and 13 stars around. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle holding arrows and an olive branch with a ribbon reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. The mint mark sits below the eagle's tail. On worn coins, the letters of LIBERTY are the first thing to fade.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Barber Quarter (1892–1916) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1896 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 188,039 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.25 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1808 troy oz (5.625 g) |
| Designer | Charles E. Barber |
Other 1896 Barber Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 Barber Quarter | 3,874,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1896 Barber Quarter Proof | 762 | Proof | 0.1808 oz |
| 1896-S Barber Quarter | 188,039 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1896-O Barber Quarter | 1,484,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
Mintage: United States quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.