1917-S Type 2

The 1917-S Type 2 Standing Liberty quarter is San Francisco's first issue of the modified design and rounds out the six 1917 variants that any complete set requires. San Francisco produced 5,552,000 pieces after receiving the revised master hubs mid-year, a figure about three times the S-mint Type 1 output. The coin is generally affordable in circulated grades but climbs steeply in price once Mint State Full Head territory is reached, a pattern shaped by the soft striking characteristics that branch-mint coins often exhibit during this period. The 1917-S Type 2 is essential for collectors assembling either a 1917 six-coin design-transition set or a complete San Francisco run of the series, and it provides one of the cleanest examples of how the modified design looked when it first reached the West Coast.

The Type 2 design changes are the same on the San Francisco issue as on Philadelphia and Denver strikes. Chain mail appears across Liberty's torso in the form of fine cross-hatched lines, the figure rests on a slightly higher dais, and the reverse eagle has been lifted into the upper field with three stars positioned in a row below it. The remaining ten stars stay along the perimeter. The S mintmark continues above and to the left of the date on the obverse. Specifications are 6.25 grams, 24.3 millimeters in diameter, 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper, with a reeded edge. Authentication generally focuses on mintmark originality, since the value spread between mintmarked and Philadelphia Type 2 quarters can justify tampering on weaker areas of the design. Strike quality on San Francisco coins frequently shows softness on Liberty's head and the eagle's breast feathers, useful diagnostics for evaluating originality.

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) populations show the 1917-S Type 2 plentiful through MS63, scarce in MS65 Full Head, and rare above that level. Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers archives demonstrate that registry-grade examples bring strong premiums when the head detail is complete and the surfaces are original. The coin pairs cleanly with the 1917-S Type 1 to illustrate the mid-year design change at San Francisco, and it provides a good introduction to the modified design for collectors not yet ready to acquire later branch-mint dates. For the full design-change history and series chronology, see our Standing Liberty Quarter series history.