1880 Liberty Seated Quarter. Briggs 1-A. MS-66 (NGC).This breathtakingly beautiful Gem is fully untoned with ice white surfaces. Semi-reflective fields support devices that are both frosty in texture and fully struck from the dies. The Mint delivered just 13,600 circulation strike quarters in 1880, a paltry total that reflects limited need for new examples of this denomination in commercial channels at that time. Indeed, when silver and paper currency achieved parity on April 20, 1876, a glut of silver coins that had been hoarded during the Civil War and early Reconstruction eras flooded the market. Yearly mintages of circulation strike quarters (and also half dollars) would remain limited until the introduction of the Barber design type in 1892.
