1867 Quarter Patterns

About This Coin

Produced at the Philadelphia Mint during the second year of the Reconstruction Era program, these 1867 quarter pieces continued the post-Civil War design exploration for the twenty-five-cent denomination. The Seated Liberty quarter had served since 1838, approaching three decades of production raising legitimate artistic questions about whether the design remained fresh enough. The obverse features experimental post-war designs, while the reverse tested compositions including nickel and aluminum. A notable auction result of $8.1K in PR64 at Superior Galleries confirms steady demand. The quarter held particular commercial importance as the primary coin for moderate everyday transactions, making design experiments especially consequential for ordinary Americans' visual experience. These patterns reflect the Reconstruction Era's ambitious scope: even commercially successful denominations underwent comprehensive design review. The Seated Liberty quarter survived until 1891 before yielding to Barber's Liberty Head, meaning these 1867 proposals were nearly a quarter century ahead of their time, documenting design ambitions the Mint establishment was not yet prepared to realize.