United States: 1873 silver Seated Liberty quarter, Arrows at Date subtype

United States: 1873 silver Seated Liberty quarter, Arrows at Date subtype

PCGS VF20. Cert. #26587810.

Numista-30784, Krause-Mishler-106.

Mintage: 1,271,200.

Gift of Randy Abercrombie, on the way to the 2026 FUN show, 8 January 2026. Acquired in the slab.

Just as had been done in 1853-1855 on the earlier No Motto types, the With Motto quarters and half dollars of 1873-1874 were given a set of arrowheads on either side of the date, to indicate a change in the weight standard.

I was traveling with my friend Randy Abercrombie to the 2026 FUN show in Orlando, Florida. The night before we set out on the trip, he was showing me a small bag of coins he was bringing down to the show to sell off. In it were a pair of circulated Seated Liberty coins: this 1873 Arrows quarter and an 1877-S half dollar, both of which were nice original circulated examples with very appealing Circulation Cameo toning on them. In fact, this quarter is about as perfect a black-and-white CircCam as I've ever seen. This contrasting appearance is a look I really like on circulated silver coins- so much so that in 2006 I created the Circulation Cameo ("CircCam") term, which has since gained some acceptance within the numismatic community.

I was surprised Randy would want to sell this coin. But he prefers white coins. Coins like this one aren't to everyone's taste. In the end, he didn't sell this. He up and gave it to me. As a gift! That's right- here you go- a $200 coin- just take it. Wow. Thanks, Randy! Though it is not an especially high grade example and I could afford a Mint State Seated quarter if I tried hard enough, I just really like this coin. I do love a good CircCam, and as I've already mentioned, this one is about as perfect a CircCam as you're likely to see. After paying for professional photos, I've got a grand total of ten dollars invested in this coin.



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