Washington Quarters, 1932-1998

Designed by John Flanagan, a New York sculptor, the Washington Quarter was minted as a commemorative distinguishing the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. The Washington Quarter is the second longest running series in modern coinage behind only the Lincoln Cent. Up until 1964, it was minted out of silver and copper. In 1965, the transition to clad coinage began and the mintmark was moved to the obverse in 1968; some special issues were struck in silver-clad.

There has been some design changes, the first being 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial. Jack L. Ahr designed the reverse of the 1976 issue. In 1977, the Eagle reverse was resumed and continued through 1998. The 50 State Quarter Program* followed beginning in 1999. These will be issued over the next ten years with five states coins minted each year in the order of admission to the Union. (See archive for individual state quarters).

MINTS

The Washington Quarter has been minted in the three modern mint facilities: Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Philadelphia issued coins in 1932, 1934-1974, 1976-98. Denver struck coins from 1932, 1934-37, 1939-64, 1968-74, 1976-98. San Francisco has minted coins in the following years: 1932, 1935-48, 1950-54, 1968-74, 1976-98.

TERMINOLOGY

Silver Quarters - Quarters minted from 1932 through 1964 were made out of 90% silver and 10% copper.
Copper-Nickel Clad Quarters - Quarters minted from 1965 to date which contain no silver; sometimes called sandwich quarters, they are made from a composition of copper and nickel.
Silver Clad Quarters - Quarters minted in 1976, 1992-1998 containing a small percentage of silver combined with copper.

RECOMMENDED REFERENCES

Photograde, by James F. Ruddy
The Washington Quarter Book: An Attribution and Pricing Guide (1932-1941), by James Wiles

Collection Studio 4.76

Library

Washington Quarters, 1932-1998

MINTS

TERMINOLOGY

RECOMMENDED REFERENCES