The 1896-S Barber Quarter is a Series Key

The Barber Quarter series, which ran from 1892 through 1916, offers collectors some challenging rarities, including the 1901-S and 1913-S; both are four-figure coins in virtually any grade. Then there is the 1896-S, a coin that isn’t quite as rare as the 1901-S and 1913-S but that nevertheless is deservedly counted among the series keys. The 1896-S Barber Quarter has a mintage of 188,039, which is significantly higher than the outputs for either the 1901-S (72,664) or 1913-S (the lowest-mintage business strike in the series, with just 40,000 emissions).

Yet, the 1896-S Barber Quarter still has a lower mintage than many other famous rarities, such as the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent (with its mintage of 484,000) or 1916-D Mercury Dime (264,000). And as many collectors know, rarity isn’t usually about mintage alone anyway – it’s about the number of survivors. PCGS estimates that there are just 2,000 examples of the 1896-S Barber Quarter across the grading spectrum. Merely 80 are believed to exist in grades of MS60 or better, and only 30 are thought to grade MS65 or higher.

These numbers point to one thing: the 1896-S Barber Quarter is downright scarce, if not rare, no matter how you cut it. Just don’t actually go cutting any 1896-S Barber Quarters! They are, after all, numismatic treasures that are pricey in any grade. According to the PCGS Price Guide, the 1896-S Quarter fetches some $800 in G4. Prices climb above $2,700 in F12 and exceed $5,000 in XF40. Expect to pay north of $20,000 for an MS63 specimen, and with only a relative handful available at the MS65 threshold, retail prices reach beyond $50,000 in that lofty “Gem” grade.

The bottom line? Collectors building sets of the Barber Quarter absolutely need the 1896-S to complete their objective. The good news is that there are usually at least a few examples of the coin available in the marketplace at any given time, but the question is how much are you willing to pay to claim one for your collection? No matter what, ensure your 1896-S Barber Quarter is encapsulated by PCGS for the peace of mind in knowing that your example is authentic and accurately graded.