US Coins

Rare 1927-S Standing Liberty quarter tops $175,000 at auction

By Steve Roach

Published: Nov 4, 2014, 10 AM

The 1927-S Standing Liberty quarter is rare with Liberty’s head fully struck on the obverse and this MS-65 Full Head, CAC, example brought $176,250 at Heritage’s Oct. 27 auction.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions

The following post is pulled from Coin World editor Steve Roach’s Market Analysis column in the Nov. 17 issue.

Heritage’s second auction of the Eugene H. Gardner Collection of U.S. Coins took place in New York City on Oct. 27 and totaled nearly $14 million. The first auction of his collection earlier this year brought nearly $20 million and there are two more auctions to go.

Gardner’s goal in pacing the sales was to allow bidders the chance to buy coins for their specialty without “breaking the bank” as might happen if a series was presented in its entirety in a single sale.

Here is one of three Coin World profiles of Standing Liberty quarter dollars from Gardner II that found new homes.

The coin: 1927-S Standing Liberty quarter dollar, MS-65 Full Head, CAC

The price: $176,250

The story: A highlight of the entire Gardner Collection is this 1927-S Standing Liberty quarter dollar, graded Mint State 65 full head by Professional Coin Grading Service with a green Certified Acceptance Sticker noting quality within the grade, that sold for $176,250.

This low-mintage San Francisco Mint issue is frequently seen weakly struck, so examples with fully defined heads are coveted. Heritage notes: “An interesting characteristic of most surviving Full Head representatives is that they were coined with severely clashed dies. Mint efforts to efface the resulting marks left numerous striations in the die face, which were then transferred to the coins as they were struck.” The issue is so challenging that PCGS has certified just 23 1927-S quarters with full head designation. Standing Liberty quarter expert Jay Cline adds, “Full Heads in Uncirculated condition are almost nonexistent.”

Heritage’s description pointed out that several of the top PCGS Registry sets lack this issue in this grade, which may have put pressure on the price.