1861 Seated Liberty Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 4,853,600 made
- Mintage
- 4,853,600
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.22 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 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.1800 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter rare?
- No. With 4.9 million made, it's one of the most common Seated Liberty Quarters.
- Is the 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1800 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1861 are scarcer?
- The 1866, With Motto at 16,800, the 1865 at 58,800, the 1864 at 93,600, plus 4 more. So the 1861 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter coins were made?
- 4,853,600.
What to check on your 1861
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- 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 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof (1,000 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. The word LIBERTY on Liberty's shield is the classic test: fully visible in Fine, partly worn in Very Good, gone in Good.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1861
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1861: 4,853,600 coins, about 6 times the 1860 run. The next year it made 932,000 (1862).
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1861-S (96,000).
Philadelphia struck the Seated Liberty Quarter in 56 issues between 1838 and 1891. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1886 (5,000). No Seated Liberty Quarter of the 1860s had a bigger run.
Heavy output and Civil War hoarding (1856 to 1865)
With the lighter standard in place, quarters circulated freely. Philadelphia struck about 7.3 million in 1856, 9.6 million in 1857 and 7.4 million in 1858. The 1856-S includes a large S over small S variety. New Orleans made its last quarters of the period in 1860 and did not strike them again until 1891.
Once banks suspended specie payments at the end of 1861, silver vanished from circulation in the East. Philadelphia output fell to 191,600 in 1863, 93,600 in 1864 and 58,800 in 1865, while San Francisco, where silver still passed at par, kept striking small runs. The 1864-S, at 20,000, is the key of the decade. From 1858 proofs were made each year in the hundreds. Several of the Civil War dates are easier to find as proofs than as business strikes.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1861
The Civil War began. Confederate forces seized the branch mints at New Orleans, Charlotte and Dahlonega. New Orleans struck some half dollars under Confederate control before closing.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with QUAR. DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Quarter (1838–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 4,853,600 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.22 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1800 troy oz (5.598 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter | 4,853,600 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
| 1861 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof | 1,000 | Proof | 0.1800 oz |
| 1861-S Seated Liberty Quarter | 96,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 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.