With a circulation strike mintage of fewer than 1,000 coins - 640 pieces, to be exact - the 1881 quarter eagle is a key date issue in the classic U.S. Mint gold series. There was little numismatic interest in this issue at the time of production, as most contemporary collectors were content to acquire an example of the year's 51-piece Proof delivery. As a result, most circulation strike 1881 quarter eagles entered commercial channels, with the typical survivor grading EF or AU. Even at those levels of preservation this issue is rare; PCGS CoinFacts allows for fewer than 100 coins extant in all grades.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the November 2017 Baltimore Auction, where it realized $45,600.