Washington Quarters (1932-1998) The bicentennial of George Washington's birth in 1932 prompted Congress to authorize a circulating commemorative quarter dollar to honor our first president. The bicentennial Washington quarter features a 1776-1976 date on the obverse and a colonial drummer on the reverse of the coin to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United States of America. This coin was produced in both years of 1975 through 1976 so there were no 1975 coins. The obverse (i.e. Front side) of the Bicentennial Quarter was almost identical to the quarters of 1932-74, the only difference being the presence of the dual date of 1776-1976. The reverse design, created by Jack L. Ahr in a government sponsored contest, features a Colonial drummer and a victory torch encircled by 13 stars. Get the best deals on Bicentennial Quarters when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Free shipping on many items Browse your favorite brands affordable prices.

The Washington quarter is the present quarter dollar or 25-cent piece issued by the United States Mint. The coin was first struck in 1932. For other Washington quarters, see this CoinQuest page [Press Here]. We also have a page on special Washington Statehood quarters at this link [Press Here]
In 1973 the mint announced that the quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins would be re-designed for the country's bi-centennial by citizen artists via a $5,000 contest. Eventually three designs were chosen and plans to cancel the same three 1975 coins, make silver versions, and issue a new two dollar bill became reality. A victory torch encircled by 13 stars and a colonial drummer along with the typical mandated writing won the quarter design. JLA under the left arm are the initials of Jack L. Ahr, the winning designer. This quarter was issued over a two year period (1975 and 1976) with more than 800 million issued. So these are not rare and even in high grade they are very common and worth very little. All circulated coins made of copper-nickel are worth face value. Some silver proof coins were made especially for collectors and there are worth their weight in silver.
For a copper-nickel coin in brilliant conditions a collector might pay as high as $8 US dollars.
Damaged coins are worth zero. Please see our Important Terminology page found at the top left in order to convert the catalog values used here into actual buy and sales values.

Washington Quarter Key Dates & Errors

There are about a dozen or so common errors and a few key dates to look for when searching and collecting Washington Quarters. A quick summary would include heavy and light mottos, double die obverses, years 1932 S & D,1933 (none), 1934 Light + Heavy Mottos, 1934 DDO, 1937 DDO, 1942 DDO (Denver), 1950 S over D. For photo examples, further details, and more key dates and errors read the rest of the article.

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Bicentennial Quarter Value Chart

• 1932-S and 1932-D - Since 1932 was the first year of production for the Washington quarter, most of them were produced at the Philadelphia mint. This means that the quarters produced at the Denver and San Francisco mints have significantly higher values than those from the Philadelphia mint, even in lower grade conditions.
• 1933 - There were no Washington quarters produced in 1933.
• 1934 Light Motto - Although the Washington quarter is well known for high quality strikes, many 1934 quarters produced at the Philadelphia mint have a light motto. Unfortunately, so many were produced that only those quarters with MS-63 and above that evidence the light motto strike hold significantly higher values.
• 1934 Heavy Motto - Just like the 1934 Light Motto...just the opposite. The 1934 Heavy Motto is a heavy In God We Trust.
• 1934 DDO - 1934 DDO (Double Die Obverse) can usually be seen on the 'In God We Trust'.

DDO In God We Trust Example
1944 DDO Date Example
1950 S over D Example
• 1937 DDO - 1937 DDO (Double Die Obverse) can usually be seen on the 'In God We Trust', as well as the date '1937'.
• 1942 Denver DDO - 1942 D (Denver) DDO (Double Die Obverse) can be noticed by looking at the L in liberty as well as the 'In God We Trust'.
• 1944 DDO - 1944 DDO Quarter see example with double '1944'.
• 1950 S over D - The mint went back and stamped an S over the D in an effort to distribute the 1950 Quarter. They have done this sort of thing often throughout the mints history.
• 1951 to 1964 - Due to vastly expanded production of the Washington quarters from all mints, the value for even highly graded quarters drops dramatically.
• 1954-S - 1954 - The last year Washington quarters were produced at the San Francisco min. Unfortunately, due to very high production, these quarters hold no higher value than 1954 quarters produced at other mints. Although production of Washington quarters did resume at the San Francisco mint in 1969, these were for mint sets only and any quarters with an S mint mark are only from broken mint sets.
• 1776-1976 S Silver - This was a special issue release for the bicentennial and have a value some ten times higher than other 1776-1976 Bicentennial Washington quarters.

Error Coins

Whether by accident or by design, there is only one real set of Washington Quarter error coins: the 1950 D/S and S/D overstrikes. Apparently there was a mix-up when new dies were sent to the Denver and San Francisco mints and many overstrike coins were produced.

Clips: There are many instances of quarters that have been clipped either slightly or clipped hard.

Die Cracks: When dies wear out they crack from usage. They then leave die crack marks when striking the quarter. These coin are usually worth just slightly more than the non error counterpart.

Off Center Strikes: When the die strikes the planchet off center it creates goofy looking strikes that seem to look like they were made with a play-dough fun factory mint set. :)

Conclusion

Since the Washington quarter was constructed with a bold design and wasn't redesigned until the 1776-1976 Bicentennial release and the Statehood quarters starting in 1999, there are no design changes or flaws as there have been in other US coins. However, keeping the main key dates in mind as well as the overstrike errors, you can still find high value coins in the Washington quarter series.

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References: Wikipedia Die Crack

Bicentennial Quarter Worth

Bicentennial Quarter Value

Bicentennial Quarter Value

1976 Quarter Bicentennial