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Washington quarters seem to be the workhorse of today’s coinage.
We use quarters for everything from buying drinks and snacks from vending machines to paying the toll while driving on the highway. And quarters are the favorite snack food of parking meters from sea to shining sea!
As a collectible, Washington quarters have seen increasing popularity since the beginning of the ambitious, 10-year-long 50 State Quarters program.
Washington quarters have performed well in the market.
Collecting Washington Quarters
Washington quarters are a fairly easy series of coins to collect, especially in the lower grades (for the older dates).
Yet, there are several scarce dates in the Washington quarters series that have posed challenges for coin collectors.
Washington quarters have seen some significant price increases over the last 15 years.
Washington Quarter Values In 1994 vs. In 2009
Comparing the prices quoted in the 1994 edition of A Guide Book of United States Coins to those of the 2009 edition shows that many Washington quarters have seen upward movement since the mid-1990s.
- 1932-D: $38-4,500 in Very Good to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1932-D: $175-22,000 in Very Good to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1932-S: $32-3,500 in Very Good to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1932-S: $185-6,000 in Very Good to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1934 Doubled-Die: $75-1,500 in Very Fine to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1934 Doubled-Die: $135-4,500 in Very Fine to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1937 Doubled-Die: $200 in Extremely Fine (1994)
- 1937 Doubled-Die: $100 in Extremely Fine (2009)
- 1937-S: $16-165 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1937-S: $35-400 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1940-D: $11-85 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1940-D: $24-300 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1940-S: $4-45 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1940-S: $9-65 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1949: $1.75-30 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1949: $10-60 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1955-D: $1.75-6 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1955-D: $4-60 in Extremely Fine to Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1982-P: $4.25 in Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1982-P: $20 in Mint-State 65 (2009)
- 1983-P: $5 in Mint-State 65 (1994)
- 1983-P: $55 in Mint-State 65 (2009)
Why Washington Quarters Increase In Value
Note the steep increases in price for most of these Washington quarters.
Of particular interest, look at the 1982-P and 1983-P coins. Those have seen tremendous value increases over the past 15 years. Ultra-modern coins like those do not typically escalate in value like that.
Most 1982- and 1983-dated U.S. Washington quarters in mint-state value have increased in value. Why? Because there were no official mint sets produced during those years. Also, relatively few of those coins were saved in mint state by the roll.
Demand for those Washington quarters in uncirculated grades far exceeds supply. In fact, there have been incidences in recent years of some better-grade circulated 1982 and 1983 Washington quarters commanding a nice premium over face value when sold.
All in all, most Washington quarters (especially the scarce ones) have performed very well over the last several years. If these prices remain high or go higher after the 50 States Quarters program fades into history remains to be seen, though.
That is one reason why investing in Washington quarters can be risky. It’s a volatile market that has seen its fair share of price increases and price decreases. Therefore, do not use this as a guide as to which Washington quarters you should invest in. This article serves only to illustrate trends that have already been witnessed.
Helpful Resources About Washington Quarters
- Washington Quarter Mintages
- 8 Valuable Washington Quarters In Your Pocket Change
- The Complete Guide To Washington Quarters
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek. I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
I just found (3) 1983- P Washington Quarters while going through a coin jar, after getting interested in knowing how much my loose change is worth. after looking online, i found that, even in poor condition, which these are, they’re worth about $22 a piece. How do I find out for sure, without getting ripped off?
Lee,
1982 and 1983 quarters are perhaps the only regular-issue, non-error copper nickel clad coins issued in the U.S. that have collector value in worn grades! You may not get $22 for them (these are closer to high-end retail values; coin dealers usually pay a bit less) they should be worth somewhere between $5 and $15, depending on their individual condition. Nice finds!
Hi Joshua. My name is Kristina. Im a first time poster to anything so ima virgin to all this lol. I’ve been collecting a few months, and i came across a 1983 P quarter in some change i got from a burger place today. Its not in great shape but is off center and has some significant DD and the P looks like a little blob with a tail lol. And all the letter R’s look like someone sharpened one side of them. Is this unusual and rare or common for this quarter?? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
Hello, Kristina!
Welcome to The Fun Times Guide! So glad that you’re braving the waters (ha ha) and posting for the first time! It sounds like what you have may indeed be worth a significant amount over face value (at least a few dollars), but I don’t want to say for certain without seeing a photo, please. Would you mind uploading a pic of your 1983-P quarter here to the comments section?
I look forward to hearing from you again!
Cheers,
Josh
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d2ba81e91bac536c0289c044f49da2a6cef7e1577ded4d09fcadce62ddd91c6a.jpg
I have a 1982 P & a 1983 P ….. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/748c5cdc0eadec5d2562b6a1b02a88a932e2c777c6c1fdf7e4cfbb69d068bbf1.jpg
Hello, Bernardo —
Thank you for your question and photos! Your 1982-P and 1983-P Washington quarters are both worth more than face value. They look like they might have light wear, but I can’t tell for sure in the photo. Assuming they are both lightly circulated, the 1982-P is worth about $1.50 to $2 while the 1983-P has a value of about $4 to $5.
Great finds!
Josh
Thank you, but if i wanted to find quarters of greater value what years should i look for?
Hi, Bernardo —
This link will definitely help: A List Of Silver Quarters & Rare Quarters You Should Hang On To https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/valuable-quarters/
Good luck!
Josh
Great pic, Kristina!
While this coin is off-center, it’s by about 3-5 percent. That isn’t quite enough to really rev up the value on this piece, but I would hang onto it anyway since it is perceptibly off-center and might be of interest to a specialist who collects all degrees of off-center error coins.
All my best,
Josh
Hey Josh i do have a couple of coins i have some inquiries about the first is a crazy quarter i found in the bottom of a drawer that had a bunch of change in it. So let me know what you think of it. The first 2 pictures are standard front and back. The last one i put a standard quarter on top of it to show the difference between the two…. Thank you so much for your time https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/556db03ec7a86d62d1cfce0ded95d64a3d279d04070493d6ad56eff6ae56d50f.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c6d9d17519600d48778fd02568d207e94b99acff5ba007c122242ad06cd37620.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/af330193f666d1e857a1f831a2d960c9a3dda4881221e216fd85a1f6aaf8a508.jpg
Hi, Kristina!
What an interesting quarter. It is quite worn down, and I can tell from the rim bruises and bumps this coin has seen a very hard life. What’s interesting about it is that it’s so worn, it would actually have value as a so-called “low-ball” coin. That means it’s so unusually worn that its value isn’t in being pristine, but rather because it is beyond a wear state that most Washington quarters ever really see. I’d suggest the coin might be worth $1 to $2 to somebody who is interested in collecting such pieces.
Here’s a piece I wrote sometime ago about low-ball coins: https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/low-ball-coins/
Best,
Josh
Joshua, I have received a 2012 S Hawaii States coin that is a proof . I just wondered if it was worth more than face value . We just have never seen one in circulation.
Hello, Fred —
Proof coins sometimes end up in circulation, and when they have wear or other signs of circulation-related impacts, they are often referred to as “impaired proofs.” There’s no book value, per se, on a circulated 2012-S Hawaii quarter, though it is probably in the neighborhood of 75 cents to $1, as these pieces are far less common than the business-strike Philadelphia and Denver strikes. What a neat find!
Best wishes,
Josh