1913 Barber Quarter

When it comes to scarce quarters of the 20th century, the 1913 Barber quarters definitely ping on the numismatic radar. The rarest of the business-strike Barber quarters was minted that year, as was another tough date. Without a doubt, 1913 Barber quarters could be considered one of the scarcest years overall for the series, with the San Francisco mint’s slight production helping to keep the total production of 1913 quarters at under 2 million.

Here’s a rundown of the mintages and values of 1913 Barber quarters:

• 1913 – 484,000; $21

• 1913-D – 1,450,000; $13

• 1913-S – 40,000; $1,475

• 1913 proof – 613; $900

*Values are for coins in a grade of Good-4, unless otherwise noted.

Two things may jump off the page here to coin collectors – first, there is the extraordinarily low mintage for the 1913-S Barber quarter, which is a mere 40,000. Second, and perhaps more interesting to some is that the 1913 Philadelphia issue, which had the exact same mintage as the famous 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent, is worth just over $20 in a grade of Good.

The rareness of the 1913-S Barber quarter cannot be understated, and this coin is heavily coveted today by numismatists across the board, and especially Barber quarter coin collectors. Meanwhile, the explanation behind the low price on the 1913 quarter is the fact that relatively few coin collectors pursue a complete collection of Barber quarters, as opposed to the high-demand Lincoln cents, which is why the 1913 quarter has a much lower value than the similarly scarce 1909 S V.D.B. cent, which has a value of around $700 in a grade of Good.