JEFF BURKE'S NEW STANDING LIBERTY QUARTER

Adding a Standing Liberty Quarter Type Coin to My Collection

I remember the night that Tom Wood, president of our Lynchburg, Virginia Coin Club, was so excited to show us his complete set of Standing Liberty quarters (SLQ) at one of our monthly meetings! Tom's SLQ set took many years to complete and included a mint state 1916 specimen. (For an intriguing story about 1916 SLQ patterns, see Steve Roach's Delicacies of Change: 20th Century Patterns in Coin World, November 2021, pp. 34-35).

Memories of that night and my own research about the SLQ series lead me to the treasure hunt of adding another piece to my small collection of high-grade, well-struck and inexpensive U.S. type coins in my favorite series: Indian Head cents, Lincoln cents, Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Liberty Walking half dollars, Morgan dollars, Saint-Gaudens double eagles - and now Standing Liberty quarters.

Thomas G. Wood, Ph.D., was an important numismatic mentor to me during my membership in the Lynchburg Coin Club (LCC), from 2006 to 2012. Tom had had several articles about Standing Liberty quarters, Nickel Three-Cent pieces and Liberty Head nickels (his three specialties) published in The Numismatist in the 1970s. Tom taught me how to sharpen my skills as a grader and to be patient when hunting for that elusive coin.

Before starting the search for a SLQ for my own collection, I reread sections of Q. David Bowers' A Guide Book of Mercury Dimes, Standing Liberty Quarters and Liberty Walking Half Dollars, 2015, and J.H. Cline's Standing Liberty Quarters, 2007. In Cline's seminal work, my favorite sections were when the author reminisced about collecting and selling SLQs in the 1950s. I also read extensive information about Standing Liberty quarters on the Newman Numismatic Portal.

After considering the options within my price range, I opted to search for a 1917 Type I SLQ because it is by far the most well struck coin in the series. In Ron Pope's limited survey of 1917 Type I SLQ, 76% had full details. (Bowers, Guide Book, p. 163). My goal was to find a choice piece in MS 62 to 65, certified by NGC or PCGS. I studied dozens of specimens (full head and non-full head) on eBay and the Collectors Corner ranging in grades from Fair 2 to MS 67+. In the end, I was most captivated by a 1926 SLQ PCGS MS-65 white gem from Northeast Numismatics that I discovered on Collectors Corner. In Pope's survey on 1926 SLQ, only 1% had full details. (Bowers, Guide Book, p. 179). Although not in the full details category, the coin that captured my attention still stood out for its overall beauty and luster.

 

This stellar quarter arrived in the mail in late January. It looks even better in person than it did during my online examinations. My wife has declared it the most beautiful coin I've ever purchased!

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