If you are interested in American silver quarters, you know that they were minted from 1932 to 1964. Even though these coins contain 90% silver, you can only sell them as junk silver. This term implies silver coins used in the past.
Nowadays, you can get some money for their silver content instead of their actual value. However, you can find a few rare and valuable pieces, as well. Let’s see how much is a silver quarter worth on the current market.
How Much is a Silver Quarter Worth?
The ‘silver quarters’ category is a broad term so that you can find numerous coin designs made on different dates and mints. All American coins made by 1965 contain 90% silver. Nowadays, the most widely sold pieces include:
- Washington quarter
- Roosevelt dime
- Walking Liberty half dollar
- Franklin half dollar
- 1964 Kennedy half dollar
However, most people will think about the Washington silver quarters minted from 1932 to 1964 when you mention the silver quarter. That year, the Coinage Act changed the coin compositions because the silver price had risen above the coin face value.
Silver quarters value |
||
| Year | Numismatic value | Mintage |
| 1932 | $4 to $400 | 5,404,000 |
| 1932 S | $200 to $1,500 | 408,000 |
| 1932 D | $200 to $1,500 | 436,800 |
| 1934 | $3 to $100 | 31,912,052 |
| 1934 D | $4 to $1,200 | 3,527,200 |
| 1935 | $3 to $1,500 | 32,484,000 |
| 1935 S | $3 to $900 | 5,660,000 |
| 1935 D | $3 to $900 | 5,780,000 |
| 1936 | $3 to $100 | 41,300,000 |
| 1936 S | $4 to $600 | 3,828,000 |
| 1936 D | $5 to $1,500 | 5,374,000 |
| 1937 | $3.5 to $80 | 19,696,000 |
| 1937 S | $4.5 to $400 | 1,652,000 |
| 1937 D | $3.5 to $220 | 7,189,600 |
| 1938 | $4.5 to $300 | 9,472,000 |
| 1938 S | $4.5 to $300 | 2,832,000 |
| 1939 | $3.5 to $60 | 33,540,000 |
| 1939 S | $4.5 to $390 | 2,628,000 |
| 1939 D | $3.5 to $130 | 7,092,000 |
As you have probably known, only three mints made silver quarters, including Philadelphia (without a mint mark), Denver (D), and San Francisco (S). They minted numerous coins each year, depending on the US Mint demand, which significantly affects their average numismatic value.
Silver quarters value |
||
| Year | Numismatic value | Mintage |
| 1940 | $3 to $60 | 35,704,000 |
| 1940 S | $3 to $60 | 8,244,000 |
| 1940 D | $3 to $350 | 2,797,600 |
| 1941 | $3 to $35 | 79,032,000 |
| 1941 S | $3 to $35 | 16,080,000 |
| 1941 D | $3 to $35 | 16,714,800 |
| 1942 | $3 to $35 | 102,096,000 |
| 1942 S | $3 to $35 | 19,384,000 |
| 1942 D | $3 to $35 | 17,487,200 |
| 1943 | $3 to $30 | 99,700,000 |
| 1943 S | $3 to $30 | 21,700,000 |
| 1943 D | $3 to $30 | 16,095,600 |
| 1944 | $3 to $30 | 104,956,000 |
| 1944 S | $4 to $60 | 12,560,000 |
| 1944 D | $4 to $60 | 14,600,800 |
| 1945 | $3 to $70 | 74,372,000 |
| 1945 S | $3.5 to $70 | 17,004,000 |
| 1945 D | $3.5 to $70 | 12,341,600 |
| 1946 | $3.5 to $50 | 53,436,000 |
| 1946 S | $4.5 to $130 | 4,204,000 |
| 1946 D | $4 to $130 | 9,072,800 |
| 1947 | $3 to $30 | 22,556,000 |
| 1947 S | $3 to $125 | 5,532,000 |
| 1947 D | $3 to $30 | 15,388,000 |
| 1948 | $3 to $30 | 35,196,000 |
| 1948 S | $3 to $30 | 15,960,000 |
| 1948 D | $3 to $30 | 16,766,800 |
| 1949 | $3 to $30 | 9,312,000 |
| 1949 D | $3 to $30 | 10,068,400 |
Silver Quarters’ Price Calculation
You should always check for your coin’s condition and demand for a particular piece on the market before selling it. Since the quarters’ price primarily depends on the bullion value of the silver that each coin contains, you can calculate it on your own. You will need three facts to do that:
- Coin composition
- Coin’s actual weight
- The current silver price
Silver quarters value |
||
| Year | Numismatic value | Mintage |
| 1950 | $3 to $30 | 24,920,126 |
| 1950 S | $3 to $30 | 10,284,004 |
| 1950 D | $3 to $30 | 21,075,600 |
| 1951 | $3 to $30 | 43,448,102 |
| 1951 S | $3 to $30 | 9,048,000 |
| 1951 D | $3 to $30 | 35,354,800 |
| 1952 | $3 to $30 | 38,780,093 |
| 1952 S | $3 to $30 | 13,707,800 |
| 1952 D | $3 to $30 | 49,795,200 |
| 1953 | $3 to $30 | 18,536,120 |
| 1953 S | $3 to $30 | 14,016,000 |
| 1953 D | $3 to $30 | 56,112,400 |
| 1954 | $3 to $30 | 54,412,203 |
| 1954 S | $3 to $30 | 11,834,722 |
| 1954 D | $3 to $30 | 42,305,500 |
| 1955 | $3 to $30 | 18,180,181 |
| 1955 D | $5 to $250 | 3,182,400 |
| 1956 | $3 to $30 | 44,144,000 |
| 1956 D | $3 to $30 | 32,334,500 |
| 1957 | $3 to $30 | 46,532,000 |
| 1957 D | $3 to $30 | 77,924,160 |
| 1958 | $3.5 to $100 | 6,360,000 |
| 1958 D | $3 to $30 | 78,124,900 |
| 1959 | $3 to $30 | 24,384,000 |
| 1959 D | $3 to $30 | 62,054,232 |
The procedure includes:
First, you need to calculate the actual coin’s weight from grams to troy ounces. Since one troy ounce equals 31.1035 g, you need to divide 6.25 g (actual coin weight) by 31.1035.
6.25 g /Â 31.1035 g = 0.201 troy ounces
The result is the coin’s actual weight in troy ounces.
The next step is to multiply that result by the percent fineness (90%) to get the pure silver’s net weight.
0.201 coin’s actual weight in troy ounces x .90 = 0.1809 pure silver’s actual weight in troy ounces
In the end, you should multiply the result you have got by the current silver spot price. You need to check that value since it varies daily. Let’s use $26.1 per troy ounce, the silver price on July 7th, 2021.
0.1809 pure silver’s actual weight in troy ounces x $26.1 = 4.72 pure silver value in your quarter
Keep in mind that coin dealers use the rounded silver value when selling quarters at melt value. However, most silver quarters worth more, and their price depends on:
- Mintmark variety
- Grading condition
- Minting date
- Special qualities
Silver quarters value |
||
| Year | Numismatic value | Mintage |
| 1960 | $3 to $30 | 29,164,000 |
| 1960 D | $3 to $30 | 63,000,324 |
| 1961 | $3 to $30 | 37,036,000 |
| 1961 D | $3 to $30 | 83,656,928 |
| 1962 | $3 to $30 | 36,156,000 |
| 1962 D | $3 to $30 | 127,554,756 |
| 1963 | $3 to $30 | 74,316,000 |
| 1963 D | $3 to $30 | 135,288,184 |
| 1964 | $3 to $30 | 560,390,585 |
| 1964 D | $3 to $30 | 704,135,528 |
What Determine the Silver Quarter Value
Date and mintmark
Washington quarters were introduced in 1932 in honor of his bicentennial birth. It has George Washington on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. They were minted in three mints, including:
- Philadelphia mint – It is the leading US mint. Except for the 1933 year without minting quarters, it struck 1.8 bullion silver Washington quarters in total.
- San Francisco mint – It started the initial Washington quarter minting and produced only 408,000 coins in 1932.
- Denver mint – Except for 1933, when there was no quarter minting, this mint only missed 1938. Only 436,800 produced coins in 1932 make this year its lowest mintage one.
Grading condition
The Washington quarter preservation state and its condition have a significant impact on its value. The possible coin condition can be:
- Mint state
- Extremely fine grade
- Fine grade
- Good grade
Upper-grade quarters are the most valuable, but sometimes even rare coins in heavily worn condition are collectible and can bring you some money.
Special qualities
Transitional (error) coins
As I have already mentioned, the silver quarters were minted by 1964. Even though all 1965 coins should have contained only nickel and copper, mints still made a few silver ones.
These mixed-up errors are considered rare and are worth more than $4,000. However, one silver quarter from 1965 reached $7,050 at an auction.
The most common errors that will make your quarter more valuable include:
- Double tail – It is a quarter with two reversed sides. There are only three discovered until now, so you can guess that they worth tens of thousands of dollars.
- Double die obverse – Doubled letters ‘In God, we trust’ and ‘liberty’ means that you can get $450 to $1100 for your quarter.
- Double-struck – Double- or multi-struck quarter will worth $400.
- Off-center – Inadequately centered quarter with the circular shape deformation worth a couple of hundred dollars. Interestingly, the coin will worth more when the percentage of off-center is higher.
- Double die reverse – Twice struck ‘quarter dollar’ on one coin increase its value to $25 to $175.
Rare silver quarters |
||||
| Year | Type | Mint state | Fine | Good |
| 1901 S | Barber quarter | $35,500 | $17,500 | $5,500 |
| 1913 S | Barber quarter | $11,000 | $4,750 | $1,750 |
| 1916 | Standing Liberty quarter | $15,000 | $7,000 | $3,600 |
| 1918/7 S | Standing Liberty quarter | $20,000 | $4,000 | $1,900 |
| 1923 S | Standing Liberty quarter | $3,000 | $700 | $390 |
| 1932 S | Washington quarter | $585 | $250 | $210 |
| 1932 D | Washington quarter | $1,600 | $260 | $190 |
| 1934 | Washington quarter doubled-die obverse | $950 | $135 | $60 |
| 1937 | Washington quarter doubled-die obverse | $2,650 | $325 | $130 |
Bicentennial quarters
Quarters minted between 1776 and 1976 are not particularly worthy. You can commonly sell such a coin in the mint state for $5 and $10. Keep in mind that not all of them contain silver. Those made at the San Francisco mint include only 40% silver (0.739 troy ounces).
Besides the mentioned silver quarters, you can also find a few made during the 20th century. Since 1992, the US Mint occasionally made new proof silver quarters for collectors.
Professional Coin Grading Service estimates their value to only $5 to $8 per piece. The only exception is the 1999-S silver proof 50 state quarter. You can get approximately $40 to $50 for this coin.
Summary
Most silver coins minted between 1932 and 1964 worth only a few bucks as much as the silver they are made of worth. However, a few rare and unique quarters can bring a few thousand dollars to you if you are lucky to have such uniqueness.
