Last week I acquired a new 1923 Standing Liberty Quarter to add to my collection, which is what inspired me to write this blog. Designed by Hermon MacNeil, this is one of the most popular coin designs for collectors. The prices of these coins are generally much higher than other coins minted in the same time-period. The overall mintage of the Standing Liberty Quarter series is much lower than the popular Mercury Dimes and Buffalo Nickels. From 1916 to 1924, the dates wore off much sooner than any of the details. This is because the date is the highest part on early date Standing Liberty Quarters. This led to extreme difficulties for grading companies, like PCGS and NGC, as well as collectors and dealers. There is essentially only one that that is required to grade coins. That is that the coin must be identifiable by year, denomination, series, variety, etc. Unfortunately, many of the earlier Standing Liberty Quarters ended up “ungradable.” Coins that may normally be a good, or sometimes even a very good example, may be ungradable simply because of the lack of the date. From 1925 to 1930, the date was recessed, which was very beneficial. The coins weigh 6.25 grams and are composed of 90% silver and 10% copper.