1875-S Mintmark Above Bow

The 1875-S Mintmark Above Bow places the small S mintmark inside the wreath but positioned above the ribbon bow rather than beneath it, the scarcer of the two reverse die placements San Francisco used during 1875. Combined 1875-S output split between the Above Bow and Below Bow varieties reached 9,070,000 pieces for the year, with the Above Bow placement representing a smaller share of the total based on survival-rate observations across the certified population. This coin is a Legend, No Arrows issue under the 2.50-gram weight standard set by the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873, struck during the production surge that followed the easing of post-Civil-War silver-coin shortages. The Above Bow placement carries forward a die-position practice that had been more common at the branch in the years immediately preceding 1875.

Strike quality on the issue follows the broader 1875 San Francisco pattern of reasonably crisp obverses with predictable softness on the wreath ribbon area and the lower obverse drapery. Most survivors fall in Very Good through Extremely Fine, and the variety reads scarcer than its Below Bow companion in higher grades because the Above Bow die ran for a shorter portion of the year before being replaced. About Uncirculated examples require patience, and Mint State pieces above MS-63 with full luster and clean fields are condition-rare. Authentication starts at the 2.50-gram weight on a 90-percent-silver planchet, the 17.9-millimeter reeded edge, and direct verification that the S mintmark sits genuinely above the bow ribbon rather than beside or below it. The placement difference is small enough that misattribution can happen on worn or weakly struck pieces, and PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, both treat Above Bow and Below Bow as separately attributed varieties with side-by-side photographic references for working through borderline cases.

For variety-set collectors, the 1875-S Above Bow is the more challenging of the two 1875-S mintmark placements and the one that holds modest premium pricing above its Below Bow counterpart in higher circulated and Mint State grades. Certified examples deserve the closer look since the placement attribution is exactly what drives the variety premium. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design and the series' late production, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.