1875

The 1875 quarter ended the brief Arrows subtype that the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 had introduced two years earlier. Once the heavier 6.25-gram planchet was established in commerce and the pre-1873 lighter coins had been visibly separated from the new production, the Mint dropped the arrowheads from the dies and returned the design to the clean With Motto form that would carry the series through 1891. Philadelphia struck 4,293,500 pieces for the year, a sharp recovery from the constrained mintages of the early 1870s and the largest Philadelphia delivery since 1858. The motto "IN GOD WE TRUST" on the banner above the eagle, added in 1866, remained the only design change carrying forward; weight standard held at 6.25 grams of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

What collectors look for on the issue starts with the date area. The 1875 dies show no arrows at the date, which is the easiest way to separate the issue from its 1873-1874 predecessors at a glance. Strike quality on the Philadelphia output is generally good for the period, though typical late-die-state coins can show some softness at the central shield and on the eagle's right leg. The drapery at Liberty's elbow should be cleanly defined; the obverse stars on a well-struck example will all show clear radial lines from a fresh die. Authentication is straightforward for the date itself, but the issue has occasionally been the source of altered-date work meant to fabricate scarcer 1870s issues; original-skin coins with even gray patina and no tooling around the digits remove that concern. A genuine planchet falls within tolerance of 6.25 grams.

Population data from PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, shows the issue is common in circulated grades and reasonably available in lower Mint State. The MS64 and above tier thins out, and gem MS65 examples command a real premium because so few survived without bag marks or routine handling. For a date-set builder, the 1875 is the natural type coin for the post-Arrows With Motto subtype and rarely sits long when offered with original surfaces. Choose certified pieces with light tone over dipped white coins, since heavy cleaning erases the texture that lets the design read cleanly. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design and the series' late-1870s production, see the Seated Liberty Quarter series history.