1875-H Quarter => Why Is It Worth More Than A 1885-H Quarter?

You've noticed ;).

The 1885 and 1886 quarters are rare and undervalued. They are at least as rare as the 1875, if not more so. I dont have the ICCS population report in front of me, but it confirms it.

Now when you start getting into the 1885 5/3, 1886 6/6 type 1 and 2, 1886 6/3 quarters, etc....these are the RARE varieties of the RARE 1885 and 1886s. You see where I'm going with this :).

I have the feeling that the Victoria quarter varieties are probably the most undervalued of all Canadian coins. They are extremely rare but completely overlooked.

Almost every Victoria quarter variety I've purchased in the last 4 months was unlabeled and unknown to the seller. I will probably put up a database of all these varieties in the future to get them more noticed.

The only other group I can think of that is currently somewhat overlooked, are the rare Victoria large cent varieties such as the 1859 9/6, the hub doubled 1881 and 1882, repunched N 1881 and 1884, etc...

Its available on ebay for $30. Just search for ICCS 2011 :). Its complementary to the Charlton guide.

The ICCS report has no pictures, it only lists how many coins of each type have been certified and in which grade.

Its great for comparing the relative "rarity" of coins. You'll quickly find that there are coins of equal rarity with vastly different prices.

But it wont list every single variety. For example, the 1886 6/3 quarter variety population is listed, however the 1885 5/3, or "straight 5" is not.