1887

The 1887 quarter records a Philadelphia delivery of 10,000 pieces, the next-to-last year in the stretch of San Francisco quarter dormancy that ran from 1879 through 1887. Carson City had stopped quarter production after 1878 and the parent mint was the only source of new pieces during this period, with output calibrated to collector orders, bullion accounts, and modest dealer demand rather than ordinary commerce. The 10,000 figure sits in the same low-mintage band as the 1884 at 8,875 and the 1886 at 5,886, well under the 12,000 to 16,000 range of the other dates in the late-series Philadelphia run. The coin belongs to the With Motto, No Arrows subtype that ran from 1875 through 1891, struck on the 6.25 gram weight standard set by the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873.

Strike quality on the 1887 is sharp and well-defined, with full eagle feather detail on the reverse and crisp banner lettering. Because the parent mint was producing such a small run, the dies did not see meaningful wear and careful work was the rule rather than the exception. The typical 1887 surfaces today in About Uncirculated or low Mint State because the bulk of the production went directly to collectors and reserves; truly circulated examples below Extremely Fine are noticeably scarce. Authentication should focus on the date digits, where the loops of the 8 and the tail of the 7 must show natural shape under modest magnification, with no signs of tooling that would suggest date alteration from an adjacent year. Weight on a genuine planchet falls within tolerance of 6.25 grams, and PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, or NGC certification is the practical standard for buying anything above a budget circulated grade.

The 1887 carries a Regular designation on the site despite a 10,000 mintage that sits well below the 12,975 figure for the Semi-Key designated 1881 and only slightly above the 8,875 of 1884. The badge tier does not align with the underlying production figures, and the 1887 reads in practice as one of the genuinely scarce dates of the late Philadelphia run alongside 1884 and 1886. Registry-set demand has tightened the supply of choice Mint State pieces across the entire late stretch, and prices in MS64 and finer have appreciated steadily over the past decade. Original-skin examples with light gold or pale gray toning trade at firm premiums to dipped or recolored coins. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1892 Barber Quarter transition, and the series' production arc, see the Seated Liberty Quarter series history.