Standing Liberty Quarter Values: Types, Full Head and Key Dates
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Short on time? The essentials
- The Standing Liberty quarter was struck at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco from 1916 through 1930, with no quarters struck in 1922. Sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil designed both faces.
- Every genuine Standing Liberty quarter weighs 6.25 grams, measures 24.3 mm across, carries a reeded edge, and is 90 percent silver with 10 percent copper.
- Silver content per coin is 0.18084 troy ounces. That figure sets a metal floor on every common date regardless of wear.
- The series has three published design types: Type 1 with Liberty's exposed breast and no stars below the eagle (1916 and early 1917), Type 2 with a chain mail vest and stars below the eagle (mid-1917 through 1924), and Type 3 with the date recessed into the coin (1925 through 1930).
- The 1916 issue with only 52,000 pieces struck is the king of the series. Other headline scarcities are the 1918/7-S overdate, the 1921, and the 1923-S.
- The mint mark, if any, sits on the obverse to the left of the date, immediately to the right of the lowest star in the left-hand column beside Liberty's feet. Philadelphia strikes carry no mint mark.
- Full Head, or FH, is a market-recognized strike designation applied when Liberty's helmeted head shows complete detail. A Full Head coin commands a real premium over the same numeric grade without the FH strand.
- Many Type 1 and Type 2 coins have partial or missing dates because the digits were struck on a raised pedestal that wore off in circulation. That is why the 1925 recessed-date modification exists.
- The 1916 and the 1918/7-S are heavily faked. Any purchase must carry certification from an independent grading service before funds move.
- Federal law does not prohibit melting 90 percent silver United States coins. The one-cent and five-cent melt ban under 31 CFR Part 82 does not extend to silver dimes, quarters, or half dollars.
On this page
- The Standing Liberty quarter at a glance
- The design story: Hermon MacNeil and the shield of the Republic
- The three types explained
- Verified physical specifications
- The silver melt floor, live
- Key dates that command a real premium
- The 1916 and 1918/7-S: the two headline rarities
- Full Head (FH): the strike premium
- The date-wear trap on pre-1925 coins
- What common Standing Liberty quarters are worth
- The 1916 and 1918/7-S counterfeit warning
- How to identify what you actually have
- Silver melt floor: worked math on one coin
- What your Standing Liberty quarter is probably not
- Standing Liberty quarter FAQ
The Standing Liberty quarter at a glance
The Standing Liberty quarter is a 90 percent silver twenty-five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint from 1916 through 1930. Sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil designed both faces. No quarters were struck in 1922, and the series ended in 1930 with no quarters struck in 1931 either.
The obverse shows Liberty standing full length, facing to the viewer's right. She holds a shield in her left arm and an olive branch in her right hand, and she strides forward through a gate inscribed IN GOD WE TRUST. The date sits below her feet on the pedestal she stands upon.
The reverse carries an eagle in flight, its wings spread across the field. The mint mark, if any, sits on the obverse to the left of the date, immediately to the right of the lowest star in the left-hand column of stars beside Liberty's feet. Philadelphia strikes carry no mint mark.
The design story: Hermon MacNeil and the shield of the Republic
Hermon Atkins MacNeil was an American sculptor born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1866. He trained in Paris and at the American Academy in Rome, and he built his reputation with public monuments and architectural sculpture before entering the coin design competition of 1915.
In 1915 the Treasury invited a small group of sculptors to submit designs for a new dime, quarter, and half dollar to replace the Barber coinage that had run since 1892. MacNeil's Liberty design was selected for the quarter. Adolph Weinman received the dime and half dollar assignments in the same round of decisions.
MacNeil's Liberty draws on classical sculpture. Art historian Cornelius Vermeule described her as an Athena figure with the walk and posture of Greek statuary. She faces east, toward the war then raging in Europe, with her shield raised and her olive branch extended. The design combined a defensive posture with a peace symbol in a way that carried real meaning in 1916.
Only 52,000 quarters were struck at Philadelphia in 1916 because the dies were not finished until late in the year. Mint officials struck the small run so the Barber quarter would be officially replaced in the required 25th year of the older design. That circumstance is why the 1916 is the king of the series.
The three types explained
The Standing Liberty quarter series has three published design types. Each one reflects a specific change the Mint made to fix a real production or public reception problem with the earlier version.
| Type | Years | Diagnostic |
|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | 1916 and early 1917 | Liberty's right breast is exposed. Reverse eagle has no stars beneath it. This is the original MacNeil design as first issued. |
| Type 2 | Mid-1917 through 1924 | Liberty wears a chain mail vest that covers her formerly bare breast. Three stars sit below the reverse eagle. Special legislation in 1917 authorized the redesign. |
| Type 3 | 1925 through 1930 | The date is recessed into a well on the pedestal below Liberty's feet. Mint engravers made this change to solve the wear problem on the earlier raised-date design. |
Source: Wikipedia, Standing Liberty quarter and United States quarter mintage figures. Type designations reference the exposed versus covered breast obverse, the presence of stars below the reverse eagle, and the recessed date starting in 1925. Checked August 2026.
The public story about a modest Liberty is often overstated in popular accounts. The August 1917 legislation that allowed the redesign was requested by MacNeil himself, in part to correct what he felt were unauthorized modifications and in part to improve the artistic quality. The chain mail vest was one of several changes made at that time.
Verified physical specifications
Every genuine Standing Liberty quarter matches the same measurable specifications. The table below is the identification baseline. A coin sold as a Standing Liberty quarter that does not match these numbers is a fake, a plated novelty, or a different coin entirely.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Face value | Twenty-five United States cents |
| Composition | 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper |
| Weight | 6.25 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.18084 troy ounces of pure silver per coin |
| Years of issue | 1916 through 1930, with no quarters struck in 1922 |
| Mints | Philadelphia (no mint mark), Denver (D), San Francisco (S) |
| Designer | Hermon Atkins MacNeil (obverse and reverse), design date 1916 |
| Mint mark position | Obverse, to the left of the date, next to the lowest star in the left-hand column of stars beside Liberty's feet |
| Proof coins | None. No proof Standing Liberty quarters were struck for public issue during the run of the series. |
Source: Wikipedia, Standing Liberty quarter infobox and text, citing United States Mint composition and design records. Checked August 2026.
The silver melt floor, live
The metal floor on any 90 percent silver United States coin comes from spot silver, not from the coin's face value. Enter the current silver spot in the tool below and it will return the melt value on a Standing Liberty quarter at 0.18084 troy ounces per coin. Scale by the number of quarters you hold for the pile value.
Use this figure as the pure metal floor. A dealer will pay below the melt for common circulated coins, and above it for scarce dates, certified high grades, or coins that carry the Full Head strike designation.
Coin melt-value calculator (silver and gold)
Estimate what the raw metal in your coins is worth at today's spot price. Pick a US coin preset or enter a weight. Enter the spot price yourself: we do not pull a live feed, so the number you type is the number we use.
Estimate only, not an offer to buy or sell. Melt value is the raw metal in the coin at spot: dealers pay less (their buy spread) and collectors may pay more (numismatic premium for date, mintmark, or condition). Rare dates and high-grade coins can be worth many times melt: how to tell if old coins are valuable. Silver content sources: US Mint coin specifications; Coinage Act of 1965; wartime nickel alloy authorized March 27, 1942.
Key dates that command a real premium
The Standing Liberty quarter series has a short and well-defined list of scarce issues. Standard references converge on four names that a serious collector watches for on any bulk pile. Additional lower-mintage issues in the late 1920s trade above common-date levels in nicer grades, though they do not carry the same headline status.
| Issue | Type | Why it is a key |
|---|---|---|
| 1916 | Type 1 | Only 52,000 pieces struck at Philadelphia. The lowest-mintage business strike of the series and the classic king coin. Every genuine 1916 carries a strong premium at every grade. |
| 1918/7-S | Type 2 | A well-known overdate error struck at San Francisco. The last two digits of 1917 remain visible beneath the 1918 date on genuine examples. Scarce in every grade and rare in mint state. |
| 1921 | Type 2 | Philadelphia mintage of 1,916,000. Low for the series and a semi-key that trades well above common-date levels in every grade. |
| 1923-S | Type 2 | San Francisco mintage of 1,360,000. Scarce in every grade and jumps sharply in Fine and higher grades. |
| 1927-S | Type 3 | San Francisco mintage of 396,000, one of the lower mintages of the recessed-date years. Not usually classified with the headline keys but carries a real premium above common Type 3 levels. |
Source: Wikipedia, United States quarter mintage figures, Standing Liberty quarter sections. Confirms the 52,000 mintage of 1916, the 1918/7-S overdate under the 1918-S entry, the 1,916,000 mintage of 1921, the 1,360,000 mintage of 1923-S, and the 396,000 mintage of 1927-S. Checked August 2026.
Dollar values on these keys are highly grade-sensitive and move with the auction market. Use current sold-listing data from an established auction house or the population report of an independent grading service to price a specific coin. Do not accept a verbal offer without a certified grade first on any three or four-figure candidate.
The 1916 and 1918/7-S: the two headline rarities
The 1916 Standing Liberty quarter is the coin most collectors think of first. San Francisco and Denver did not strike quarters that year. Philadelphia struck only 52,000 pieces because the dies were not ready until near year-end. Survivors are scarce at every grade of the Sheldon scale, and prices scale sharply from Good through Very Fine and up.
The 1918/7-S is an overdate created when a 1917-dated working die was re-punched with a 1918 date at the San Francisco Mint. The result is a coin that shows traces of the earlier 7 beneath the 8 in the final digit position. The overdate can be read under 10x magnification on genuine coins. It is not a common variety and it commands a strong premium at every grade.
Grade sensitivity on both coins is extreme. On the 1916 the step from About Good to Good, and the step from Very Good to Fine, each can multiply the price. On the 1918/7-S the same wear steps have the same effect, and full mint-state examples with Full Head detail trade at levels most owners never see.
Recent published prices on both coins scale sharply with condition. Rather than quote a single number that would be stale by the time you read it, price a specific candidate against current sold-listing data from an established auction house and the current population report of an independent grading service.
Full Head (FH): the strike premium
Full Head, or FH, is a strike designation the two major independent grading services apply to a Standing Liberty quarter when Liberty's helmeted head shows complete design detail. It is a separate strand from the numeric Sheldon grade, and a Full Head coin commands a real premium over the same numeric grade without the FH strand.
The Full Head diagnostic looks at three areas of the head. First, three visible leaves at the top of Liberty's helmet. Second, a complete hairline that runs above the forehead without breaks. Third, a clear indent for the ear. Both grading services publish specific criteria, and they apply the FH strand only when all three areas are struck up fully.
A Full Head strike is common on some issues and rare on others. Certain San Francisco and Denver dates were routinely struck weakly and rarely show Full Head detail at any grade. On those issues, the FH premium is not a small number. It can multiply the standard-grade price several times over on a certified coin.
Do not confuse a Full Head coin with a well-worn coin that has lost detail through circulation. Full Head describes strike quality as struck at the Mint, not preservation. A weakly struck mint-state coin with soft head detail will not receive the FH strand even if the rest of the design is sharp.
The date-wear trap on pre-1925 coins
The single most common frustration on a Type 1 or Type 2 Standing Liberty quarter is the missing date. The digits sat on a raised pedestal at the base of Liberty's feet, and that pedestal was the first spot on the coin to touch a pocket, a purse, or a counter. It wore away quickly.
The Mint recognized the problem and modified the design for the 1925 issue. Engravers recessed the date into a small well below Liberty's feet, so the date became the last spot to wear rather than the first. That change is why Type 3 quarters from 1925 through 1930 nearly always show a readable date, while a fair share of Type 1 and Type 2 coins from 1916 through 1924 do not.
A dateless Standing Liberty quarter is a real coin with real silver content. It cannot be attributed to a specific year and is valued as bulk 90 percent silver at the melt floor, minus a small dealer spread. A dealer will not pay a numismatic premium on a coin that cannot be dated.
Some dateless pieces have been treated with acid to raise the ghost of the original date. Nitric acid attacks the silver at the base of the design where the impression once sat and can bring back a faint shadow of the digits. A treated coin is not certifiable and trades as damaged silver, not as a collectible.
What common Standing Liberty quarters are worth
The honest answer for the version most readers own is that a common circulated Standing Liberty quarter is worth its silver content plus a modest collector premium. The Type 2 and Type 3 years were struck in the millions across three mints, and supply on the collector market is deep for common dates in low to mid grades.
Three factors move the value on any Standing Liberty quarter above the silver floor.
Condition is the largest lever. A well-worn common date trades near the melt figure. A sharp Very Fine or Extremely Fine example carries a real premium. A certified mint-state coin can trade for several multiples of the silver value, and a Full Head strike multiplies again from there.
Date and mint mark matter next. A common Philadelphia coin from 1924 or 1929 sits at the bottom of the price ladder. A 1916, an 1918/7-S, a 1921, or a 1923-S carries a real premium in every grade above Good, and the premium scales sharply with condition.
Original surfaces matter more than most owners realize. A coin with clear, unaltered fields grades higher than the same coin polished by a well-meaning owner. Cleaning almost always lowers the market price. Acid-treated dateless coins carry no collectible value.
The 1916 and 1918/7-S counterfeit warning
The 1916 and the 1918/7-S are both heavily faked. The price gap between an authentic piece and a common nearby date runs into thousands of dollars in higher grades, which invites forgery at industrial scale on both issues.
The common attack on the 1916 is to alter the last digit of a 1917 Type 1 coin so it reads 1916. The final 7 is cut down or filled to resemble a 6. Under magnification the tool marks are visible, and the shape of the 6 does not match a genuine 1916 punch. Weight, style, and the specific look of the pedestal serve as further checks.
The common attack on the 1918/7-S is to alter a genuine 1918-S so the field around the 8 shows a manufactured trace of a 7. On a genuine overdate the underlying 7 is baked into the die, not scratched onto the coin after strike. Certified graders separate the two on sight.
Bad actors also try to add a fake D or S mint mark next to the date pedestal on a Philadelphia 1916 or a 1917 to move it up the price ladder. Added mint marks often show a solder trace or sit at the wrong height. Any 1916 candidate, or any 1918/7-S candidate above the lowest circulated grades, must carry certification from an established independent grading service before funds move.
How to identify what you actually have
The steps below are the sequence a serious hobbyist runs on a Standing Liberty quarter found in a jar, a drawer, or an inherited collection. Follow them in order before treating the coin as anything more than silver bullion.
- Confirm the coin is a Standing Liberty quarter. The obverse shows Liberty standing full length, facing right, holding a shield in her left arm and an olive branch in her right hand, striding through a gate inscribed IN GOD WE TRUST. The reverse shows an eagle in flight. A Barber quarter, which was replaced in 1916, shows a right-facing bust of Liberty and a heraldic eagle. A Washington quarter, which followed in 1932, shows a left-facing bust of George Washington.
- Weigh the coin on a jewelry scale. A genuine Standing Liberty quarter weighs 6.25 grams. A digital scale that reads to two decimal places is enough. A weight far outside 6.1 to 6.4 grams points to a fake or a plated non-silver base.
- Identify the type. A bare-breasted Liberty and a plain eagle field with no stars below means Type 1 (1916 or early 1917). A chain mail vest and three stars below the eagle means Type 2 (mid-1917 through 1924). A date sunk into a small well at the base of the pedestal means Type 3 (1925 through 1930).
- Check the date and mint mark. On Type 1 and Type 2 coins the date sits on a raised pedestal at Liberty's feet. On Type 3 coins the date is recessed into a well. The mint mark, if any, sits on the obverse to the left of the date, next to the lowest star in the left column of stars. A missing mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Screen for the key dates. Look specifically for the 1916, the 1918/7-S, the 1921, and the 1923-S. Any candidate deserves a closer look under 10x magnification before conclusions.
- Assess the Full Head strand. Under magnification, look at three areas of Liberty's head. All three of these must be sharp for a coin to earn the FH strand: three leaves at the top of the helmet, a complete unbroken hairline above the forehead, and a clear indent for the ear.
- Do not clean the coin. Any polishing, dipping, or scrubbing lowers the grade an independent grader will assign. Cleaning can drop the value by half or more. Acid restoration of a worn date destroys any collectible value. Preserve the coin exactly as found.
- Submit high-value candidates to an independent grading service. Only a certified authentication carries weight in the marketplace on any 1916 candidate, on a 1918/7-S candidate, on a 1921 or 1923-S in Fine or better, or on any Standing Liberty quarter that appears to grade Extremely Fine or Mint State with strong head detail.
Silver melt floor: worked math on one coin
What your Standing Liberty quarter is probably not
Most Standing Liberty quarters that reach a shop counter or a resale listing are not what the owner is hoping for. It is more useful to know the honest patterns than to sell yourself on a possibility. The list below is what a typical Standing Liberty quarter most often turns out to be.
A dateless Type 1 or Type 2 coin. The single most common outcome on any pre-1925 example. The date wore off in circulation, and no attribution to a specific year is possible. Value is silver plus a small numismatic discount for the missing date.
A common Type 2 or Type 3 coin in low grade. This is the second most common outcome. A real coin with real silver content, but at Good or Very Good grade its value is silver plus a small premium at best. Well-worn Philadelphia coins from 1917 through 1930 are the bulk of the surviving population.
A common circulated Denver or San Francisco coin in low grade. Genuine silver, real history, but common at that grade. Value is metal-driven with a small premium for the mint mark on the scarcer years.
A cleaned or polished coin. Someone applied a chemical dip or a soft cloth to brighten the surface. Certified graders assign a details grade instead of a numeric grade, which typically cuts value by half or more compared to an original piece.
An acid-restored date. The date has been raised out of a worn field by chemical treatment. The coin is not certifiable and trades as damaged silver, not as a collectible. Certified graders detect the treatment on sight.
An altered 1916. A genuine 1917 Type 1 with the final 7 cut down to resemble a 6, or a Philadelphia Type 1 with a fabricated 1916 date over the pedestal. Certification services detect nearly all examples on sight.
An altered 1918/7-S. A genuine 1918-S with a manufactured trace of a 7 added to the field around the 8. Genuine overdates carry the earlier digit baked into the die, not scratched on after strike.
A jewelry-mounted or holed coin. Silver Standing Liberty quarters were used in pocket pieces and love tokens. A coin with a mount hole, a solder trace, or a bezel mark is a damaged coin regardless of date. Value is silver content plus a small collectible discount.
A real key date, undiscovered. This outcome is possible, and it is the reason to run the identification steps on every Standing Liberty quarter you find. It is also rare enough that it should not shape financial decisions before an independent grader confirms the coin.
Standing Liberty quarter FAQ
What is a Standing Liberty quarter worth today?
A common circulated Standing Liberty quarter is worth its silver content, which is 0.18084 troy ounces of pure silver per coin. At a silver spot price of 30 dollars per troy ounce, that works out to about 5.43 dollars per coin as a pure metal floor. Certified key dates such as the 1916, the 1918/7-S, the 1921, and the 1923-S trade for real premiums that scale sharply with grade and with the Full Head strike designation.
Why does my Standing Liberty quarter have no date?
Type 1 and Type 2 coins struck from 1916 through 1924 carry the date on a raised pedestal at Liberty's feet. That pedestal was the first spot on the coin to touch a pocket or a counter, so it wore off quickly in circulation. The Mint fixed the problem for the 1925 issue by recessing the date into a small well. A dateless pre-1925 coin cannot be attributed to a specific year and trades at the silver melt floor.
What is the rarest Standing Liberty quarter?
The 1916 is the king of the series with a mintage of only 52,000 struck at Philadelphia. The 1918/7-S overdate is the second headline coin and is very scarce at every grade and rare in mint state. The 1921 and the 1923-S are also expensive across the grading scale. No proof coins were struck for public issue during the entire series.
What is a Full Head Standing Liberty quarter?
Full Head, or FH, is a strike designation the two major independent grading services apply when Liberty's helmeted head shows complete design detail. The diagnostic looks at three areas: three visible leaves at the top of the helmet, an unbroken hairline above the forehead, and a clear ear indent. A Full Head coin trades at a premium over the same numeric grade without the FH strand.
Where is the mint mark on a Standing Liberty quarter?
The mint mark, if any, sits on the obverse to the left of the date, immediately to the right of the lowest star in the left-hand column of stars beside Liberty's feet. A D means Denver, and an S means San Francisco. A coin with no mint mark next to that star was struck at the Philadelphia Mint. This position is a common source of confusion because most later United States coins carry the mint mark on the reverse.
Is the 1932 or 1931 Standing Liberty quarter valuable?
Neither coin exists as a business strike. No Standing Liberty quarters were struck in 1931, and the series ended in 1930. The Washington quarter replaced the Standing Liberty design in 1932 to mark the bicentennial of George Washington's birth. A coin dated 1931 or 1932 with the Standing Liberty design is a novelty, an error struck outside the Mint, or a modified coin.
How do I spot a fake 1916 Standing Liberty quarter?
The common attack on the 1916 is to alter the final digit of a 1917 Type 1 coin so it reads 1916. Under magnification the tool marks around the modified digit are visible and the shape of the 6 does not match a genuine 1916 punch. Any 1916 candidate must be authenticated by an established independent grading service before funds move.
Is it legal to melt Standing Liberty quarters for their silver?
Yes. Federal law does not prohibit melting 90 percent silver United States coins. The melt ban under 31 CFR Part 82 covers one-cent and five-cent coins only and does not extend to silver dimes, quarters, or half dollars. That said, a scarce date or a high-grade coin is worth much more intact than melted, so the identification steps above should run before any coin goes to the refiner.
Should I get my Standing Liberty quarter professionally graded?
Grading has a fee, so it is not worth submitting a common circulated coin worth silver plus a small premium. Grading is essential for any 1916 candidate, for any 1918/7-S candidate, for a 1921 or 1923-S in Fine or better, and for any Standing Liberty quarter that appears to grade Extremely Fine or Mint State with strong head detail. A certified grade with the FH strand where earned sets the coin's market value in a way a verbal appraisal cannot.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Standing Liberty quarter. Series 1916 to 1930 with no coins struck in 1922, designer Hermon Atkins MacNeil, three published design types (Type 1 with exposed breast and no stars below the reverse eagle, Type 2 with chain mail vest and stars below the eagle, Type 3 with recessed date starting in 1925), mass 6.25 grams, diameter 24.3 mm, reeded edge, composition .900 silver and .100 copper, silver content 0.18084 troy ounces per coin, mint marks D and S located on the obverse to the right of the lowest star in the left-hand column of stars beside Liberty's feet, 1916 mintage of 52,000 pieces struck at Philadelphia, the 1918/7-S overdate variety, the 1921 and 1923-S semi-keys, and the fact that no proof coins were struck for public issue during the series. Also confirms the date-wear problem on Type 1 and Type 2 coins and the 1925 recessed-date modification. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_Liberty_quarter. Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, United States quarter mintage figures. Standing Liberty quarter mintage tables for Type 1 (1916-1917), Type 2 (1917-1924), and Type 3 (1925-1930) confirming the 52,000 Philadelphia mintage of 1916, the 1918-S 8-over-7 overdate under the 1918-S entry, the 1,916,000 Philadelphia mintage of 1921, the 1,360,000 San Francisco mintage of 1923-S, and the 396,000 San Francisco mintage of 1927-S. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_quarter_mintage_figures. Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Quarter (United States coin). Confirms the 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper composition standard for United States quarters from 1873 through 1964, the 6.25 gram weight for that composition, the 24.3 mm diameter, and the succession of designs from Barber to Standing Liberty (1916 to 1930) to Washington (1932 to present). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_(United_States_coin). Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Hermon Atkins MacNeil. Biographical reference for the American sculptor born in 1866 who designed the Standing Liberty quarter, his training in Paris and at the American Academy in Rome, and his broader sculptural work. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermon_Atkins_MacNeil. Checked August 2026.
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. 31 CFR Part 82: Prohibition on the Exportation, Melting, or Treatment of 5-Cent and One-Cent Coins. Treasury regulation limited to one-cent and five-cent coins. The regulation does not prohibit melting silver dimes, quarters, or half dollars. ecfr.gov/current/title-31/subtitle-B/chapter-I/part-82. Checked August 2026.
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. 18 U.S. Code section 331: Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins. Federal statute cited for defacement and fraudulent alteration of United States coins, including altered dates and mint marks. law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331. Checked August 2026.