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. The reverse depicts an eagle with arrows and an olive branch. This is a Proof strike variant minted in 1856 at the United States Mint of Philadelphia with a highly limited mintage of 30 pieces.

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.
• Low mintage: Only 30 pieces reported. This puts the issue into key-date territory for its series; expect steep grade-based price scaling and a higher counterfeit risk — provenance and third-party grading matter.
• 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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