The 1928 Standing Liberty Quarter Value Guide

The Full Head designation is not a mint error but a strike quality indicator awarded by PCGS and NGC to Standing Liberty Quarters where Liberty's helmet was struck with sufficient die pressure to reveal full design depth. Because the Type 2 design concentrates high relief in the head area, most coins — especially from Denver and San Francisco — received insufficient striking force to complete those details during the 1928 production run.

To earn the FH designation, a coin must display three completely separate and distinct leaves in Liberty's helmet, a sharp and unbroken hairline running along the face, and a clearly visible ear hole (or lower hair curl). Any merging of leaves or absence of the hairline disqualifies the coin. PCGS and NGC maintain separate population reports for FH and non-FH specimens at each grade, making the designation independently verifiable.

The value premium for Full Head is dramatic and increases exponentially with grade. A 1928-D in MS-63 without FH is worth around $350; the same coin with FH jumps to approximately $2,350 — a 570% increase. At MS-67, the gap widens to $3,850 (non-FH) versus $77,500+ (FH). The 1928-D FH is considered the conditional rarity champion of the date, with fewer than 1% of the Denver mintage estimated to have achieved Full Head status.

The 1928-S Inverted Mintmark, designated FS-501 in the Cherrypickers' Guide, is a die preparation error that occurred when the mintmark punch was applied to the obverse die upside-down — rotating the "S" 180 degrees before the die was hardened and put into production. Every coin struck from that die carries the inverted impression, making this a true die variety rather than a one-time striking accident.

Under a loupe or magnification, the inversion is unmistakable: the "S" opens in the wrong direction, with the upper curve of the letterform pointing downward. Even in circulated grades of Good through Fine, the orientation difference is detectable to a trained eye and can be confirmed by comparing to a normal 1928-S under the same magnification. The error is catalogued with its own PCGS and NGC variety numbers and must be certified to command full premium.

Circulated examples of FS-501 have sold in the $80–$416 range at public auction, with graded PCGS VF-25 examples reaching around $73–$100 in recent eBay completed listings. The premium over a standard 1928-S reflects both the visual appeal of the variety and the relatively scarce supply of authenticated examples in the marketplace. Higher-grade certified specimens are uncommon and carry additional collector premiums.

The 1928-S Repunched Mintmark FS-502 arose when the mintmark was initially punched into the die in one position, then re-punched in a slightly different position to correct its placement. The first impression was not fully removed before the second punch was applied, leaving a residual ghost "S" southeast of the final, primary mintmark. This specific variety occurs on a Large S die, distinguishing it from the Small S issues produced on other 1928-S dies.

Under 10× or stronger magnification, both impressions are discernible: the dominant primary "S" and the earlier southeast ghost, which appears as a partial shadow or doubled edge on that side of the letter. The overlap is subtle enough that it is frequently overlooked by casual observers, making this variety a prime target for cherrypicking from dealer stock and estate lots. Once identified, PCGS and NGC certification confirms the designation.

Among 1928 varieties, the RPM FS-502 commands some of the strongest premiums in the circulated range — documented values run from $299 in lower circulated grades to $1,150 in higher circulated grades, per the Cherrypickers' Guide reference data. The combination of visual detectability under magnification and meaningful dollar premium makes this one of the more rewarding varieties for intermediate collectors.

A clashed die error occurs during minting when the obverse and reverse dies accidentally strike each other without a planchet between them. The impact transfers a mirror image of each die's design elements into the opposing die's working surface. On the 1928 quarter, this clash left a ghosted impression of the letter "E" — from the reverse inscription "E PLURIBUS UNUM" — appearing in the obverse field where it does not belong in the original design.

The transferred "E" appears as a shallow, incuse ghost impression in the open field of the obverse, typically near Liberty's figure or the field to her left. Because the impression is transferred in reverse relief (incuse, not raised), it requires raking oblique light or magnification to confirm. Many circulated examples with minor clash marks go unnoticed by general dealers, making this an accessible cherrypick for collectors who know what to look for with a good loupe.

Circulated examples with confirmed clash marks have sold in the $50–$150 range, with cleaner, higher-grade examples pushing past $200. The error is documented across multiple dates in the Standing Liberty series, and the 1928 issue is one of the more frequently cited years. Premium depends on the clarity and strength of the clash impression, as well as the coin's overall grade.

This off-metal error represents the most extreme known minting accident associated with the 1928 quarter. It occurred when a bronze Lincoln cent planchet — instead of the correct silver quarter planchet — was fed into the quarter coining press and struck with the full quarter die pair. Because the cent planchet is significantly smaller (19 mm vs. 24.3 mm) and lighter (3.1 g vs. 6.25 g) than a quarter planchet, the resulting coin is dramatically undersized and copper-colored, with peripheral design details missing wherever the design extends beyond the smaller planchet diameter.

Only two NGC-certified examples of this error are known to exist, making it one of the rarest documented mint errors in the entire Standing Liberty quarter series. One authenticated example — graded NGC MS-63 BN — was featured on the cover of Mint Error News Magazine Issue 31 and is associated with the Byers Collection, a landmark reference in the error coin community. The coin's provenance and publication history add to its significance beyond the error type alone.

Because so few examples exist and public auction prices are extremely limited, no specific realized price can be confirmed from multiple independent sources — however, comparable off-metal error coins of this rarity tier consistently command six-figure sums at major auction houses. Any claimed example must be authenticated by NGC or PCGS before any value assessment is meaningful.