Washington Quarter

The Washington Quarter is the current regular issue United States quarter dollar coin (showing George Washington) on the obverse, and an eagle on the reverse.

Specifications

 * Designer: John Flanagan
 * Obverse Design: George Washington Bust
 * Reverse Design: Eagle
 * Edge: Reeded
 * Weight: 6.3 grams
 * Diameter: 24.3 millimeters
 * Composition:  Silver (90%), Copper (10%) until 1965
 * Dates Minted: 1932 - Present

Background
In early 2004, about mid-way through the eight-year state quarter program, an article in a major coin values magazine stated in an article title, “State quarters most popular, most collected coins in U.S. history.” Judging by the title of that article— and I don’t doubt the truth of that statement at all— a lot of people would assume that their collection of state quarters is certain to soar in value very quickly. Perhaps. Perhaps not. More on that later.

True, this article is about the Washington quarter in general, not JUST about the state quarters. But as it is, the state quarter program, which began in 1999 and is still continuing as of this 2006 writing, deserves attention here. But first, some history on the Washington quarter, pre-1999!

History
Except for perhaps the first year of issue in 1932, and the 1976 Bicentennial quarter, the Washington quarters up to 1998 were far more apt to be spent than saved in pristine condition. The Washington quarter was never considered nearly as beautiful as the previous Standing Liberty quarter, thus, up through 1998, this quarter never achieved a rabid collector following. Also playing a big part in this coin’s lack of collector popularity, was the fact that only two dates in the series provided any challenge in the lower circulated grades – those being the aforementioned 1932-d and 1932-s quarters, both which today retail $175 in Good condition, then rise sharply from there. After that, every date/mintmark combination of Washington quarters is fairly common.

While it’s true that even early Washington quarters, save for the 32-D and 32-S, are still low-priced in the circulated grades of Good through Very Fine, prices really jump for early Washington quarters in Extra Fine condition. Once you get to MS-60, the most basic of mint state grades, prices have really risen in the last few years. This especially holds true for pre-1940 quarters.

I remember back around 1997 or so, coin dealers bemoaned the fact that NOBODY was interested in the Washington quarter. The Washington quarter, along with Jefferson nickels and Roosevelt dimes, was considered a “dead” series. The Bicentennial quarter had gotten some interest, but it soon died down when it became apparent that so many were struck,it would never be hard-to-find.

The Bicentennial quarter aside, the BIGGEST change in the 1932-1998 Washington quarters came in 1965. That year, Washington quarters (like the Roosevelt dime and Kennedy half dollar) were no longer struck in 90% silver. In fact, starting in 1965, Washington quarters contained no silver at all. Consequently, the pre-1965 Washington quarters VERY quickly vanished from circulation. Many went straight to the melting pots. I myself remember, when I began collecting as a boy in 1971, that I often found pre-1965 pennies and nickels. But I NEVER found pre-1965 quarters in change, even though the ones from the early 1960’s were less than ten years old! To this day, you’re almost as likely to get struck by lightning as you are at find a pre-1965 quarter in change.

State Quarter Program
Many people consider the state quarters to be regular-issue commemorative coins. That’s not exactly true. The state quarters are meant to honor each of our 50 states, not to commemorate historical events. That said, many of these quarters actually DO commemorate historical events, so both sides of the argument have a case. BUT, the Washington quarter actually DID begin as a commemorative coin. It was struck in 1932 to commemorate the birth of our first President and “Father of Our Country.” There was a pretty high output of 1932 Washington quarters at the Philadelphia mint, around 5.4 million. The mintage of 1932 quarters at the Denver and San Francisco mints, however, was relatively miniscule at a little over 400,000 at each of those mints. As a result, both the 1932-S and 1932-D quarters are sought-after keys to the series.

In the following year of 1933, no quarters were struck. In all likelihood, the public figured this gap in quarter production signaled either a return to the Standing Liberty quarter design (struck 1916-30), or that there would be yet another new quarter design coming forth from the Mint. Instead, the Washington quarter reappeared again in 1934, this time, as a regular-issue coin, not a commemorative. The design did not change at all from 1932. In fact, designer John Flannigan’s Washington quarter design remained intact (with only the slightest of modifications) from 1932 to 1998, save for a special 1976 Washington quarter to honor our nation’s Bicentennial. On that 1976 Bicentennial quarter, the Washington bust remained the same, but there was a dual date of “1776.1976.” It was the reverse of that Bicentennial quarter that was truly different:  a depiction of a Revolutionary War patriot on the drums.

The state quarter buzz actually began BEFORE 1999, but only in coin collecting circles. Collectors began hearing news that there would be a new quarter program, one where a quarter would be struck to honor each of the fifty states! Understandably, this news provoked much excitement and speculation in numismatic circles. Would the state quarter program be a flop? A gigantic hit? A major shot in the arm for Washington quarters? A major shot in the arm for coin collecting in general? Would there be initial interest at first, then a major falling off of interest as the program wore on?

Well, in 1999, the first of the state quarters appeared: the Delaware quarter, showing patriot Caesar Rodney galloping across the reverse. It immediately caught the public’s attention. Then, to the surprise of the general public, the Pennsylvania quarter appeared a couple of months later. Then a New Jersey quarter! Then a Connecticut! Then a Georgia!

By this time it became clear to collectors and non-collectors alike, that there were going to be new and interesting collectible coins pouring forth from the U.S. Mint on a regular basis. People started saving them— some even saved state quarters by the roll, others even by the bag! United States quarter maps and albums appeared in book stores. Grandparents and parents began saving the quarters for their children and grandchildren. Young people began looking through their change to see if they could find the newest state quarter. The program was bonafide smash hit! By 2004, it was estimated that some 150 million people were collecting the state quarter!

Actually, a “Perfect Storm” in the coin collecting sense was brewing around the time of the state quarters. Not only was there the beginning of the popular state program at the end of the 1990’s, but at the same time, eBay and other auction sites were ALSO starting to boom, thus the state quarters could be bought and sold with even greater ease. With the internet boom, information could be disseminated to the masses as never before. AND, don’t forget, around the late 1990’s, it was a VERY prosperous time in American history. People had more expendable money and more leisure time in which to spend it, than ever before. A lot of that extra time and money was funneled into collectibles, and coins were the new “hot” collectible. Not only did the earlier Washington quarters garner far more interest than ever before, but ALL U.S. coins were “hot” as never before! Coin values rose across the board. All this because of a coin series that many coin dealers considered stone dead as recently as 1997!

State Quarter Proof Sets
Special state quarters were also struck at the San Francisco mint, starting in 1999. Each year, San Francisco strikes special Proof state quarters in silver. These have proven to be hot sellers, and the first 1999 silver state quarter set, in particular, has leaped in value over the past 8 years.

As stated at the beginning of the article, many experts consider the state quarters to be the most collected U.S. coin type ever. The demand is HUGE! And where there’s huge demand, there’s soaring process, right? Well… partly right.

High demand must be coupled with limited supply for prices to soar. There’s high demand for the McDonald’s Big Mac, but since they can crank them out by the millions, there’s enough Big Mac’s around for anyone who wants one. Which is why you can get them for $1.50. It’s the same way with the state quarters. A LOT of people collect them, and will need all fifty states (some will also want every mintmark as well) to complete their sets. BUT… the state quarters have been cranked out by the hundreds of millions, per state. The LOWEST mintage for any state thus far, is just over 400 million -- that’s a little over 200 million Maine quarters struck in Philadelphia, a little over 200 million struck at Denver. True, the state quarters are only struck for about 10 weeks maximum, and then never struck again. But that short mintage period doesn’t mean that a LOT of them aren’t being struck.

Does that mean you shouldn’t waste your time with state quarters? Absolutely not! By all MEANS collect them! It’s fun to collect one from each state, and better yet, you can pick out uncirculated examples from pocket change! If you decide you don’t like them later on, just spend them! Should you INVEST in them? That’s another story. They don’t APPEAR to be great investments, simply by virtue of the many millions struck per state. Still, if you should be lucky enough to find a flawless uncirculated example—not Proof, but Uncirculated— then you could have a high value coin. But to truly stand out, a state quarter really needs to be perfect or at least near perfect. In technical grades, that would be MS-68 or higher. And finding a near-flawless mint-state quarter is not as easy as it sounds. Experts speculate that MOST state quarters coming straight from the mint grade MS-64 to MS-66. That’s because even a mint-state coin is apt to rub or bump up against another coin and create a mark that can easily be seen with or without magnification.

After this year, there will only be two more years of the state quarter program to go. That means that starting in 2007, we only have ten more state quarters to go! Some coin pundits say that after the last state quarter (Hawaii) is struck, then watch out! There will be a renewed mad scramble for state quarters as everyone will be trying to complete their sets. Whether there will be state quarter madness at the end of 2008 or not, I’m not sure. Could happen, I suppose. But many believe the state quarter program will be extended after 2008 to include U.S. territories, such as Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Will we return to the 1932-98 Washington quarter design again, after the state program has ended? I don’t think anyone really knows yet. But if the state quarter program ALSO signals the end of the Washington quarter, look for the Washington quarter to experience yet ANOTHER round of renewed collector enthusiasm!

Mints

 * Philadelphia Mint (no mintmark)
 * New Orleans Mint (O mintmark)
 * San Francisco Mint (S mintmark)