History of the Clad Washington Quarter
The United States first placed President George Washington on the quarter coin in 1932. They did this to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth. It was intended to be a one-year commemorative coin. With the advent of the Great Depression, lack of demand for new quarters suspended production for a year. When demand for coinage returned in 1934, the United States Mint resumed production with the commemorative design of 1932. The mint first produced Washington quarters using an alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper. However, in 1964 the price of silver was rising rapidly. The United States Congress approved legislation to eliminate silver from the U.S. circulating coinage and change the composition of the coin to an outer layer of 75% copper and 25% nickel clad to an inner core of pure copper. Production of these coins continued through 1998. The following year the United States Mint introduced the 50 State Quarters Program.
Coin Market Analysis
The U.S. Mint has been issuing clad Washington quarters by the millions and is still found in circulation today. Therefore, circulated examples are only worth face value while uncirculated coins are plentiful and widely available for a small premium over face value. The astute coin collector can sometimes find a 90% silver Washington quarter in circulation. You can still assemble a complete set of Washington clad quarters directly from circulation. However, most of your quarters will be in circulated condition. This is a great opportunity to introduce a young person to the hobby of coin collecting. Even if they don’t stick with coin collecting, you will teach them how to plan a collection and save.
Key Dates, Rarities, and Varieties
Proof coins are rarely found in circulation because they were specifically issued directly to coin collectors. Up until and including, 1964, Washington Quarters were made of 90% silver. However, the occasional proof or silver coin sometimes makes it into general circulation. The following Washington quarters in any condition, are worth considerable more than common circulating coins:
Any Proof coinAll 90% silver (1932 - 1964, and Special Proof Silver Issues))All 40% silver-clad issues (1776-1976 Special Bicentennial Issues)1982, 1982-D, 1983, and 1983-D in uncirculated condition
Mint Marks
The U.S. Mint produced Clad Washington quarters at three different mints: Philadelphia (no mint mark), Denver (D) and San Francisco (S). As illustrated in the picture link below, the mint mark is located on the obverse of the coin, behind Washington’s head and next to the bow in his ponytail.
Average Circulated and Uncirculated Values & Prices
You will find the buy price of what you can presume to pay to a coin dealer when you are purchasing the coin and the sell value of what you can anticipate a dealer to give you if you are selling the coin. The average buy price and the sell value for an average circulated and uncirculated examples are listed by date and mintmark. These are approximate retail prices and wholesale values. The actual offer you receive from a particular coin dealer for your Washington quarter dollars will vary depending on the actual grade of the coin and some other factors that determine its worth.
