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HISTORY
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
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Series
Washington Quarters
Series Run
1932-1998*
Designer
John Flanagan
1976 Reverse
Jack L. Ahr
Weight
silver issues
6.25 grams
copper-nickel issues
5.67 grams
silver clad issues
5.75 grams
Net Weight
silver issues
.18084 ounces pure silver
silver clad issues
.0739 ounces pure silver
Composition - Silver
.900 silver
.100 copper
Composition - Copper-Nickel
outer layers
.750 copper
.250 nickel
inner core
pure copper
Composition - Silver Clad
outer layers
.800 silver
.200 copper
inner core
.209 silver
.791 nickel
Diameter
24.3 millimeters
Edge
Reeded Edge
Mints
Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
Mink Mark Location
silver issues
reverse below wreath
other issues
obverse right of ribbon
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