1868

The 1868 Seated Liberty Quarter records a Philadelphia delivery of 30,000 pieces, another suppressed Reconstruction-era output that ranks among the smallest business strikes of the With Motto subtype. Specie payments remained suspended through 1868, Treasury paper continued to trade at a discount against hard silver, and the Mint had little reason to expand subsidiary silver production while public hoarding kept circulating coin in private holdings rather than commerce. The coin was struck on the 6.22-gram weight standard set by the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853 and belongs to the 1866-1873 With Motto subtype, with the scroll reading "IN GOD WE TRUST" above the eagle's head on the reverse. Most pieces that reached the market circulated heavily for decades before collector demand began pulling them off the road.

What grades and authenticates an 1868 starts with the motto scroll on the reverse, which must be complete, properly placed, and undisturbed at the boundaries. The drapery at Liberty's elbow should be cleanly defined. Strike is generally average for the period, with occasional softness on the eagle's right leg and the upper shield lines, and Larry Briggs catalogs the working die marriages for the year. Weight on a genuine planchet falls within tolerance of 6.22 grams. Date placement and the absence of tooling around the digits remain practical authentication checks. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, both screen these reliably, and a certified holder is the practical safeguard above generic type levels.

For a date-set builder, the 1868 is a genuine Semi-Key that surfaces in Very Good through Fine with some regularity and becomes meaningfully scarce in Extremely Fine and above. Mint State coins are condition rare, and the PCGS and NGC certified populations skew sharply to circulated grades. Any problem-free uncirculated example commands a substantial premium because the unworn population was thinned by routine commerce through the 1870s. The issue is a recommended certified buy at any meaningful price level, and original-skin circulated coins with even gray patina trade at firm premiums to cleaned pieces. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1866 motto addition, and the series' production arc, see the Seated Liberty Quarter series history.