¼ Dollar "Seated Liberty Quarter" without motto, reduced weight (1856) — United States

Overview

A silver ¼ Dollar coin of the United States, known as the 'Seated Liberty Quarter' (without motto, reduced weight). The obverse features Seated Liberty looking right above her shoulder, with a cap on a stick and a shield. The reverse depicts an eagle with arrows and an olive branch in its talons. Minted in 1856 at the United States Mint of Philadelphia with a mintage of 7,264,000 pieces. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, it is composed of .900 silver with a reeded edge.

Specifications

Country

United States

Year

1856

Composition

Silver (.900) (.100 copper)

Weight

6.22 g

Diameter

24.3 mm

Mint

United States Mint of Philadelphia

Shape

Round

Technique

Milled

References

KM# A64.2

Issuer

United States

Design details

Collector insights

• Design heritage: Christian Gobrecht is credited as the designer for the Standard circulation coins series. Designer attribution helps distinguish this issue from later restrikes or unofficial copies that reuse only the motif.
• Struck at: United States Mint of Philadelphia. Confirm the mintmark on your example before comparing prices — same-year issues from different mints often trade at very different levels.
• Mintage vs. survival: Reported mintage of 7,264,000 is high, but circulation attrition, currency-reform meltdowns, and low collector-preservation rates mean uncirculated (MS-63+) examples are meaningfully scarcer than the raw figure suggests. Check third-party population reports (PCGS/NGC) for realistic survival in top grades.
• Precious metal content: Silver (.900) (.100 copper) — bullion value provides a price floor, and many circulated examples were melted during the 1979–1980 and post-2010 silver spikes, reducing the surviving population.
• Catalogue reference: Listed as KM# A64.2. Use this reference code when cross-checking auction archives, dealer inventories, and standard printed catalogues.

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