Although the denomination was introduced the year before, production of circulation strike twenty-cent pieces ceased early in 1876. The brevity of this series is due to a number of factors, not the least of which is the similarity in size and design between this coin and the contemporary Liberty Seated quarter. The twenty-cent piece was also not needed in circulation in the East or Midwest, where paper money was readily accepted as a substitute for coinage. In the West, where coinage was preferred, the widespread production and use of dimes rendered a twenty-cent piece redundant.

Twenty-cent production did continue beyond 1876, however, but only in Proof format, and then again only for two more years. The final year 1878 has a mintage of 600 pieces, more than that of the Proof 1877 but significantly less than those of the Proof 1875 and 1876. With no circulation strikes produced, the 1878 is the second rarest date in this series after the 1877, survivors popular at all levels of preservation.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the November 2023 Showcase Auction, where it realized $7,800.