1927-S

The 1927-S Standing Liberty Quarter ranks as one of the most coveted issues in the series after the legendary 1916 and the early overdate varieties, claiming the second-lowest mintage of the entire run at just 396,000 pieces and the lowest mintage of the entire recessed-date or late-series Standing Liberty era. Only the 1916, with its tiny 52,000-piece production, undercuts the 1927-S in raw mintage figures. This dramatic shortfall against the rest of the 1927 output, where Philadelphia struck nearly twelve million quarters and even Denver produced almost a million, creates substantial condition-rarity pressure that intensifies through every Mint State grade level, with population reports thinning rapidly above the lower uncirculated tiers.

Hermon Atkins MacNeil's mature Type 3 design appears in full form, with Liberty in her gateway holding shield and olive branch on the obverse, and the flying eagle with three stars below on the reverse. Authentic 1927-S quarters weigh 6.25 grams, measure 24.3 millimeters across, and feature a reeded edge in the standard 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper alloy. The S mintmark sits on the obverse above and to the left of the recessed date, and the MacNeil M monogram appears at the shield base. Because the low mintage drives such substantial premiums, the 1927-S is regularly targeted by counterfeiters who add S mintmarks to genuine 1927 Philadelphia hosts. Authenticators look for tooling marks around the mintmark area, mismatched surface texture between the mintmark and surrounding field, slightly raised metal at the punch boundary, and any inconsistency in mintmark style compared to verified San Francisco specimens. Strike quality varies considerably, though the date is not generally regarded as poorly struck.

Even well-circulated 1927-S examples carry meaningful premiums, while Mint State coins reach into substantial five-figure territory in higher grades with Full Head designation. PCGS and NGC populations confirm the date's enduring scarcity. For complete mintage comparisons and variety listings, see the Standing Liberty Quarter series history.