1873 Open 3

The 1873 Open 3 quarter eagle is the later and more common of the two date logotypes employed at Philadelphia that year, introduced after Mint Director Henry Linderman ordered the original Closed 3 dies replaced because the numeral too closely resembled an 8. The recut Open 3 logotype, with clearly separated upper and lower curls, accounts for the majority of the combined umbrella mintage of 178,025 pieces and remains the more accessible of the variety pair for collectors building Liberty quarter eagle date or variety sets. Survivorship across all grades is reasonably broad, including a healthy supply of mid-grade circulated examples and a respectable population of higher graded coins.

Authentication begins with the date itself, where the open gap between the upper and lower curves of the 3 distinguishes the Open variety from its Closed counterpart. Under modest magnification, the separation should appear clean and natural rather than tooled or recut, with rim denticles near the date area showing no signs of disturbance that might indicate fraudulent variety conversion. Standard checks confirm the basic specifications: a calibrated scale reads 4.18 grams in 0.900 fine gold alloy, the planchet measures 18 millimeters across, and the reeded edge with coin alignment showing the reverse rotated 180 degrees from the obverse complete the baseline verification.

Among Liberty quarter eagle issues of the 1870s, the 1873 Open 3 functions as a regular date for collectors who do not pursue both varieties, while remaining a genuine collectible in its own right for those building variety-complete sets. Market availability is solid across circulated grades, with About Uncirculated and Mint State examples appearing regularly at auction at levels that reflect the broader accessibility of the variety. Third-party certification with attribution noted on the holder remains the safest path for any purchase above casual grade, particularly when the visual difference between the two 1873 logotypes can be subtle on worn examples. See the full Liberty Head Quarter Eagle series history.