A mintage of 122 pieces for the 1894 represents a slight increase over the previous year in the total number of Proof quarter eagles struck. In keeping with the standards of this classic U.S. Mint gold series, of course, the Proof 1894 is a rare issue in an absolute sense with fewer than 100 coins believed extant in all grades. Estimates on the exact number of survivors are fairly tight between numismatic references, with Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth (2008) providing a figure of 50 to 70 coins, PCGS CoinFacts allowing for 60 to 80 pieces, and John W. Dannreuther (2018) estimating 60 to 70 known. A fair number of the survivors are impaired due to having been placed into circulation or otherwise mishandled by earlier generations of collectors, further reducing the number of high quality examples that would appeal to today's discerning numismatists.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the August 2013 Chicago ANA Auction, where it sold for $44,062.