1875

Sandwiched between the slightly scarcer 1874 (366,800) and the considerably more available 1876 (583,905), this Philadelphia issue closes the second-to-last chapter of the Type 2 design. Carrying the IN GOD WE TRUST motto added in 1866 and the abbreviated TWENTY D. reverse, 1875 is the penultimate Philadelphia year before the revised Type 3 hub took over in 1877 with a spelled-out TWENTY DOLLARS legend. The mintage of 295,740 places it firmly in the moderate tier of Type 2 Philly business strikes, well above the genuinely rare early-decade dates yet trailing the volume that appeared the following year.

Survivorship skews heavily toward circulated grades, with the bulk of certified examples grading EF through low Mint State following decades of domestic and overseas commercial use. PCGS and NGC each report substantial AU through MS-62 populations, and the date is regularly described by specialists as roughly comparable to the 1874 in overall condition rarity. True MS-64 examples are scarce enough that Doug Winter's reference work characterizes properly graded MS-64 holders as "a rarity with just a few dozen extant" at PCGS, with anything finer crossing into condition-rarity territory. Late Type 2 Philadelphia strikes typically show softness in Liberty's hair curls and a faint mushiness on the eagle's shield lines, byproducts of aging dies pressed into heavy production runs.

Heritage Auctions sold a PCGS MS-64 example for $75,000 on November 14, 2021, a result that anchors the upper retail tier and reflects the steep premium attached to choice Mint State survivors. A separate proof issue of just 20 pieces was struck the same year, which trades in an entirely different rarity universe and should not be confused with circulation strikes. For collectors building a complete Type 2 Philadelphia run or assembling a date set, this issue offers a reasonable blend of accessibility in mid grades and genuine challenge above MS-63. Additional context on the broader design family is available in the Liberty Head Double Eagle series history.