1926-D

The 1926-D Standing Liberty Quarter sits in the middle of the recessed-date era with a Denver mintage of 1,716,000 pieces, a figure that places it among the more accessible branch-mint issues of the late series. Unlike its San Francisco counterpart from the same year, the Denver striking is generally regarded as well-executed, with sharper central detail and crisper shield rivets than collectors find on coins from the West Coast facility. This combination of modest mintage and reasonable strike quality has long made the 1926-D a date that beginners can pursue without the budget required for the genuine keys, while still offering enough scarcity in higher grades to interest advanced collectors building a Full Head registry set.

Hermon Atkins MacNeil's obverse depicts Liberty standing in a gateway, draped in chain mail and holding a shield and olive branch, with the date recessed below the field in the protected Type 3 configuration introduced in 1925. The reverse features an eagle in flight with three stars positioned below, a graceful composition that defined the series across its entire run. Authentic 1926-D quarters weigh 6.25 grams, measure 24.3 millimeters in diameter, and carry a reeded edge along with the 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper alloy specified by the Coinage Act. The D mintmark appears on the obverse, above and to the left of the recessed date, while MacNeil's stylized M monogram remains visible at the base of the shield. Authenticators verify the recessed date relief and check that the mintmark shows the soft, slightly rounded serifs characteristic of genuine Denver dies rather than the sharper edges typical of tooled additions.

Circulated 1926-D examples remain reasonably affordable, while Mint State coins climb steeply once Full Head detail enters the picture, where Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) populations thin considerably. For comparative mintages, die varieties, and a complete date-by-date breakdown, see the Standing Liberty Quarter series history.