By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
The Washington Quarter, first issued in 1932, was initially conceived as a circulating coin to honor the nation’s first president on the 200th Anniversary of his birth. Its design was the work of American sculptor John Flanagan, who modeled his portrait after French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon’s bust. Houdon in turn based his work on a life mask of George Washington taken at the Founding Father’s Virginia plantation estate, Mount Vernon. Today, Houdon’s sculpture is on display at the Mount Vernon Visitors Center.
The quarter denomination, which sputtered upon its initial release, had seen its usefulness grow in the early-to-mid 20th century. Although hampered by the Great Depression and World War II, demand for the Washington Quarter was greater than demand for the two preceding types: the Barber Quarter of 1892-1916 and the Standing Liberty type of 1916-1930. Mintages increased gradually throughout the 1930s and ’40s, only to take off during the ’50s and early ’60s. In the postwar period, Americans found economic prosperity, the United States being the only major power not ravaged by the war.
As business was good for American companies, it was also good for the United States Mint, and by the late 1950s and early ’60s, demand for coins began to exceed the Mint’s capacity to produce. Driving this in large part was the explosive growth of the vending machine industry. With vending machines, Americans could purchase newspapers, coffee, sandwiches, phone calls, cigarettes, and even alcohol, among other things. All of these machines took coins, and it could be days or weeks before operators redeemed a given vending unit’s take. The effect is the same when people stash their spare change in coin jars.
The increase in demand and a global movement against using silver in circulating coins led the Mint to consider other options for the dime, quarter, and half dollar. The Battelle Memorial Institute, commissioned by the Treasury Department to look for a suitable alternative, suggested a cupronickel-clad composition, which was not then typically used to strike coins. After much experimentation with the new base-metal coin composition, the Coinage Act of 1965 was enacted on July 23. The new law removed the silver content from the dime and quarter and authorized a reduced fineness for the Kennedy Half Dollar.
The Mint’s production of the clad Washington Quarter began on August 23, 1965, with the first coins entering circulation in November. Under the provisions of the new law, the Mint was authorized to produce silver and clad coins simultaneously, with the silver issues bearing the 1964 date and the clad issues being dated 1965 or later. When the Mint had struck enough clad coins to meet demand, production of the silver version was concluded.
Satisfied that it could produce coins at a quantity necessary to meet modern demand, the Mint announced in 1967 that it would resume the use of mintmarks in 1968 and bring back the popular annual Proof and Uncirculated Coin Sets.
While the Johnson Administration proclaimed that silver and clad coins would circulate side-by-side for years, the truth was that within the first five years of the clad Washington Quarter’s release, the number of circulating silver quarters quickly fell. Contributing greatly to this effort was the Treasury Department, which set up a process to sift through its stock to remove silver coins. Everyday Americans also contributed by plucking out the increasingly small number of silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars they received in change. By the late 1970s, the earliest-dated quarter commonly found in circulation was the 1965.
The use of Flanagan’s Heraldic Eagle reverse was temporarily suspended in 1975 and ’76 as the Mint issued special quarters, half dollars, and dollar coins to mark the National Bicentennial Celebration. For the Bicentennial Quarter, the obverse featured a dual date of 1776-1976, while the reverse featured Jack Ahr’s “Drummer Boy” motif. More than a billion Bicentennial Quarters were issued in the clad format. This well-received design has become a “classic” of the post-war period.
The Heraldic Eagle returned in 1977, and its use continued through 1998. After that, the Flanagan Washington Quarter design was significantly altered to accommodate the 50 State Quarters Program of 1999-2008, the Washington, D.C. and American Territories Quarters of 2009, and the America the Beautiful Quarters Program of 2010-2021. The “original” Flanagan obverse returned for its final bow for the 2021 Washington Crossing the Delaware Quarter one-year type. In 2022, the Mint adopted the Laura Gardin Fraser Washington Portrait for the American Women Quarters series, which concludes at the end of 2025.
The Clad Washington Quarter’s Certified Market
As a common coin, clad Washington Quarters struck from 1965 onward can be found in circulation with some effort. Beyond the chase of finding coins from each date or mintmark, worn Washington Quarters carry no numismatic premium. Instead, collectors seek coins in uncirculated condition. Except for coins issued from 1965-67 and 1982-83, uncirculated Washington Quarters can be affordably sourced from the United States Mint’s annual Uncirculated Coin Sets, which often can be purchased for less than their initial issue price.
Apart from collecting coins this way, some collectors seek high-grade clad Washington Quarters certified by CAC, NGC, and PCGS. To qualify as a high grade for the series, the coin must earn either MS67 or MS68. Premium Gem MS67 coins are uncommon, and MS68 coins from most dates are generally scarce, with some dates not having examples graded at this level.
Paying huge premiums for conditionally rare modern coins carries some degree of risk, as the prices historically decrease when additional coins are added to the census. In the case of the clad Washington Quarter, it is not the coin’s scarcity that suppresses grading submissions but the lack of value for all but the finest examples. Knowing this, some specialists actively submit high-end modern coins in volume to capitalize on the arbitrage.
In-Depth Clad Washington Quarter Date Analysis by CoinWeek Notes
Extended Coverage on CoinWeek
Here, CoinWeek contributor Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez writes about the 1998 Washington Quarter – the end of an era for several generations and a coin that few appreciated at the time.
Contributor N.B. Cruzada discusses the concept of a “ghost coin” and what that means for the 1983-P.
Design
Obverse:
On the obverse, a left-facing portrait of Washington dominates the surface. Inside a flat rim is the word LIBERTY at the top, and the date at the bottom. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST is placed to the lower left of Washington, the words arranged in two lines. Designer John Flanagan’s initials JF are on the right side of the base of Washington’s neck.
Reverse:
On the reverse, a centered eagle with outstretched wings rests on a tightly bound bundle of arrows. The eagle’s wings curve on the outer edges to form an arc concentric with the raised rim. Between the wings and the rim, around approximately the top half of the coin, is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and below that text but above the eagle’s head is the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, also in two lines. The denomination QUARTER DOLLAR follows the rim at the bottom, and two short olive branches curve above the denomination but below the eagle, leaves partially overlapping other design elements. Silver Washington quarters were minted in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco; D and S mintmarks are located below the crossed ends of the olive branches, above the “ER” in QUARTER.
Edge:
The edge of the Washington Quarter is reeded.
Coin Specifications
| Washington Quarter, Clad | |
| Years of Issue: | 1965-98 |
| Mintage (Circulation): | High: 1,819,717,540 (1965); Low: 101,534,000 (1968-D) |
| Mintage (Proof): | High: 4,227,728 (1987-S); Low: 1,750,244 (1996-S) |
| Alloy: | Outer layers of .750 copper, .250 nickel bonded to pure copper core |
| Weight: | 6.25 |
| Diameter: | 24.30 mm |
| Edge: | Plain |
| OBV Designer: | John Flanagan |
| REV Designer: | John Flanagan |
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Additional References
Bowers, Q. David. The Experts Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins. Whitman Publishing.
–. A Guide Book of United States Washington and State Quarters. Whitman Publishing.
–. A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Whitman Publishing.
Guth, Ron, and Jeff Garrett. United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Whitman Publishing.
Taxay, Don. The U.S. Mint and Coinage. Arco Publishing.
Yeoman, R.S., and Jeff Garrett (editor). The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. Whitman Publishing.
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