1927-S Standing Liberty Quarter: The 1920s' Toughest Date
Coin Encyclopedia · 8 min read · Published November 7, 2026
By 1927 the Standing Liberty quarter was nearing the end of its run, and San Francisco struck just 396,000 of them — the lowest mintage of the late series and one of the keys collectors chase longest. The coins went into circulation on the West Coast, wore hard, and almost none came back. A worn 1927-S with a readable date is a scarce coin; an uncirculated one with a Full Head is a great rarity.
The 1927-S is the late-series key the way the 1916 is the first-year key: a small number at the edge of the series, discovered late, and hard to find ever since. This page explains why the mintage was so small, how the date survives wear better than the early issues, and what to look for in hand.
396,000 at the edge of the series
The Standing Liberty design was replaced by the Washington quarter in 1932, and by the late 1920s the mints were winding down. San Francisco struck 396,000 quarters in 1927, a small run in a decade of large ones, and the coins went where quarters go: into tills, cash registers, and pockets across the West. There was no collector market waiting to save them, and the survival rate is the story of this coin.
Compare the figure with its neighbours. Philadelphia struck quarters by the tens of millions in the same years, and even other San Francisco dates of the decade ran into the millions. The 1927-S is an outlier, and collectors noticed it early: by the time organised collecting took hold in the mid-twentieth century, the date was already recognised as one of the keys of the late series, and it has held that standing ever since.
The recessed date helps
Unlike the early issues, the 1927-S carries a recessed date, sunk into the design to protect it from wear. The change came in 1925, after collectors and the Mint alike had watched the raised dates of 1916–1924 fade to nothing on worn coins. On the 1927-S the date survives far better: even heavily worn examples usually keep a readable date, and the date is the first thing a collector checks.
That protection changes the hunt. On a 1921, the date is the problem; on a 1927-S, the date is the easy part, and the head is the problem. Liberty’s hair and the ear are the high points that wear first, and a Full Head 1927-S — hair fully struck, ear clearly visible — is one of the rarest coins in the series. The date will be there. The head may not.
Where the S sits
The mint mark on a Standing Liberty quarter is on the obverse, to the left of the date just above the rim. On the 1927-S it is a small S, and it is the whole difference between a common Philadelphia 1927 quarter and a key date. Check the reverse of nothing — the letter is on the front, beside the date, and every 1927 quarter deserves a look there before it goes back into a jar.
Check the letter under a loupe. A genuine S is crisp, correctly positioned, and struck at the same depth as the rest of the design. A letter that looks added, shallow, or out of place is a warning sign, and the right move is a professional opinion rather than a guess. Key-date Standing Liberty quarters attract altered mint marks, and the 1927-S is no exception.
What our guide shows for the 1927-S
Our value guide has not yet researched grade-by-grade figures for this date, so the table below shows “—” for every grade. That blank is honest: the mintage of 396,000 is documented, the scarcity is documented, and a guessed figure would help nobody. Grade figures will be added here when they are researched.
| Grade | Estimated value |
|---|---|
| Good (G-4) | — |
| Fine (F-12) | — |
| Extremely Fine (XF-40) | — |
| About Uncirculated (AU-50) | — |
| Mint State 60 (MS-60) | — |
| Mint State 65 (MS-65) | — |
Guide values reviewed November 5, 2026 — figures update live from our Worker.
What can be said with confidence is where the premium sits. On the 1927-S, it sits on the head and on the grade: a Full Head example is among the rarest coins in the series, and the gap between a Full Head and a merely uncirculated example is large. Worn examples with a clear date and a clear S are the ones collectors encounter most often, and they are the ones that reward a careful look.
The silver underneath
Every Standing Liberty quarter is 90% silver, struck on a 6.25-gram planchet, 24.3 millimetres across, with a reeded edge and about 0.18 troy ounces of pure silver. That metal gives every genuine example a floor: $9.42. Silver moves daily, so the floor moves with it, but the floor is real — no genuine 1927-S is worth less than its metal.
Metal floor updates live from our Worker — last updated November 7, 2026.
Use the weight as a quick test. A genuine coin weighs 6.25 grams on a pocket scale. A light coin, a coin with a soft or uneven edge, or a coin whose surfaces look cast rather than struck should be checked by a professional before any decision is made about it.
Handling a late-series key
Do not clean it. Original surfaces are everything on a coin this scarce, and cleaning removes them permanently. Handle it by the edges, store it in an acid-free holder, and keep it dry. If the coin is raw, photograph both sides in good light and keep a note of where it came from.
Then get it certified, especially if the head looks sharp. A professional opinion on authenticity, grade, and Full Head status is the standard for the 1927-S, and it protects the coin and everyone who handles it afterwards. A scarce coin deserves that much care.
Latest reported results for this coin
Checking for newly reported results…
Your questions, answered
How many 1927-S Standing Liberty quarters were struck?
San Francisco struck 396,000 Standing Liberty quarters in 1927, the lowest mintage of the late series and one of the keys collectors chase longest.
Why is the 1927-S so scarce?
The mintage was small, the coins circulated hard on the West Coast, and few were ever set aside by collectors. Wear, loss, and later melting thinned the survivors further, so even worn examples are scarce.
Does the 1927-S have a recessed date?
Yes. The date was recessed into the design starting in 1925 to protect it from wear, so the 1927-S date survives far better than the raised dates of the early issues. The head, not the date, is the wear point on this coin.
Where is the mint mark on a 1927-S Standing Liberty quarter?
The S is on the obverse, to the left of the date just above the rim — not on the reverse. Check it under a loupe: a genuine S is crisp and struck at the same depth as the design.
Is the 1927-S Standing Liberty quarter silver?
Yes. Every Standing Liberty quarter is 90% silver, 6.25 grams, with about 0.18 troy ounces of pure silver. The live metal floor for this coin is in the specs section above, and it moves with the silver market.
Check your 1927-S
Run the date and mint mark through the free Coin Value Checker for an instant estimate, or get a Grade-or-Not verdict on whether certification is worthwhile. The full series guide is here: Standing Liberty Quarter Value and Key Dates. The scarce San Francisco date of the 1920s is the 1923-S Standing Liberty Quarter, and the 1921 Standing Liberty Quarter is the scarce Philadelphia date.
Three hundred ninety-six thousand struck at the edge of a series, a recessed date that survives, and a head that decides the top end — the 1927-S is the late-series key that teaches collectors the last years of a design are often the hardest to complete.
This guide is for education — learn the coin first, and get a professional opinion before buying or selling.