for a few years, but by 1890 was rarely seen. Of the 1,351,540 twenty-cent pieces minted for circulation, over a third were melted by the government between 1895 and 1954, most heavily in 1933. The least expensive twenty-cent piece, according to the 2014 edition of R. S. Yeoman's A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book), is the 1875-S, listed at $110 in good-4 condition. According to commentary in the Red Book, the twenty-cent piece failed because "the public was confused over the coin's similarity to the quarter dollar, which was better established as a foundation of American commerce", that fractional currency satisfied the need for small change in the East, and because "the twenty-cent piece was essentially just a substitute for two dimes". Mintages The mint mark letters indicate which mint produced the coin (parentheses indicate lack of a mint mark). The mint mark appears under the eagle on the reverse. P (Philadelphia Mint) CC (Carson City Mint) S (San Francisco Mint) Notes References Bibliography Other sources External links Twenty-cent piece by year and type. Twenty-cent pictures Twenty-cent patterns Currencies introduced in 1875 Coins of the United States dollar Twenty-cent coins Goddess of Liberty on coins Eagles on coins