1901-S 25C MS67 认证号-149, PCGS号5630

PCGS grade. Ex: San Francisco Mint; J.M. Clapp; John H. Clapp; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Sold by Bowers & Merena Apr '97 price realized $52,800. Lot #1575. Image courtesy of Heritage Numismatic Auctions.

David Hall

The 1901-S Barber quarter is, in my opinion, the rarest regular issue (non-variety) silver coin of the 20th century. The original mintage of 72,664 is very low for the era. For example, the mintage of the 1901 was 8,892,000, the 1901-O was 1,612,000, and the 1902-S was 1,524,612. And the 1901-S was issued at a time when collecting branch mints was not the general practice. Most collectors at that time just sought one of each date, regardless of mint. Collecting by date and mint mark didn't start to get popular until about ten years later.

The majority of 1901-S quarter surviving today are very low grade with the typical specimen being an AG3 or GD4. Higher grade specimens are rare and mint state specimens are very rare. There are a small handful of Gem MS65 or better specimens, I would estimate the number to be between 10 and 20.

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Jaime Hernandez

The 1901-S Barber Quarter is the key coin to the entire regular strike Barber coinage. In contains one of the lowest mintages for the Barber coin series. Even in the lowest grades, it commands thousands of dollars, primarily because of its rarity.

In 1994, a 1901-S Barber Quarter in high Uncirculated grades was discovered hidden in a Schoolhouse cornerstone in Reno, Nevada. The coin was later graded by PCGS as MS65. This example was later consigned to the Stacks Auction Firm.

On March 04, 2010, the finest 1901-S Barber Quarter graded PCGS MS68 (imaged above), sold to David Lawrence Rare Coins at an auction conducted by Bowers and Merena. It is very possible that the finest known 1901-S Barber Quarter was purchased directly from the U.S. Mint in the early 1900’s, by some prominent collector who managed to preserve it really well, and for a very long time.

This would explain why it exists in such high condition. In fact, in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, there were several collectors who had the capability to order and purchase rare coins directly from the U.S. Mint. One of the most prominent collectors was John M. Clapp, an oilman from Pennsylvania. Clapp was well known for acquiring great rarities by using this method.