Key date coins are generally harder to find or have a very specific attribute versus other dates within in a coin series. It is these key date coins which tend to garner the most attention by coin collectors and investors who want exposure to numismatics in their portfolio of collectibles.

Collectors Dashboard has been offering some analysis on multiple key date coins and one key coin for collectors, with realized prices to prove it, is the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter. This coin is highly sought after and it is believed by collectors to hold its value more than many other key date coins due to its scarcity.

The 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter is by default the Type One variant. The exposed chest of liberty standing caused the mint to cover the exposed breast in 1917, a reaction to outcry from the public concern for innocent youths. The coin was only minted in Philadelphia and there were just 52,000 examples the first year of production in 1916.

The 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter is very collectible and sought after in any grade. The 1916 coin also had the stats to show that both the lowest graded and highest graded coins maintain their value for collectors.

There are 22 PCGS graded full head examples in MS66 condition, and this dominates other grading companies by the number of samples. In MS66 condition without the full head, as of June of 2021, there were just 6 coins and just 1 example of the MS 66+.

What has happened to the price over time? A 1972 edition of Guide Book of United States Coins lists an uncirculated condition of the coin at $875.00, equivalent to MS60 condition. Good condition in 1972 was still a $250.00 coin.

The official Red Book Guide of 2004 lists the G4 condition as valued at $1,600.00 with MS63 being the highest guide condition at $8,000.00.

The year 2021 PCGS price guide is valued in its lowest listed condition at $1,250.00. AG translates to About Good and the contrast of the Good condition in 1972 equals a value of $3,250.00 in 2021.

Two listed PCGS graded Mint State 60 coins were both sold by Heritage Auctions, one in January 2010 for $14,950.00 and one for $16,100.00 in January 2008. The value of a PCGS grade MS60 in 2021 is $15,000.00.

Lower graded sales of the coin have a predictably higher population and sales have been more attainable to the average collector. Good examples of the coin trade equally on eBay as they do other Auction platforms:

• March 2019 David Lawrence RC sale of G4 PCGS graded for $2,900.00;
• Heritage Auctions sale January 2018 of the same condition for $2,640.00;
• 2 coins sold in June 2017 for $2,703.00 from Stack’s Bowers;
• and 1 example sold for $2,602.00 via eBay.

The auction giant eBay (as of June 2, 2021) listed an MS66 Full Head example for $54,600.00 in the Buy it Now category, and it was listed with the “or Best Offer” that would imply a lower price can be agreed upon. With a mintage so bluntly below 100,000 coins, the conditions of any one of the coins should be expected to maintain value above other key date coins even if peak values may widely vary over time.