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How to Recognize Rare Quarters

The U.S. Mint has struck quarter dollars since 1796. While you aren't likely to find anything but Washington quarters in your change, you may still hold a valuable coin in your hand. Some modern quarters can be quite rare due to scarcity in certain U.S. Mint locations, errors during the minting process or the metal content of the coin.

Things You'll Need

Magnifying glass

Instructions

- 1
  Buy a coin guide book such as "Whitman's Red Book" or "The Insider's Guide to Coin Values." These books are key because they contain color photographs and descriptions of scarce coins.
- 2
  Check the date of your quarter. Generally speaking, the older the coin the more rare it is.
- 3
  Look at the mint mark. This is the single letter stamp, such as "D" or "P," that indicates the city in which the coin was minted. In these examples, the mint locations were Denver and Philadelphia. Some U.S. Mint locations struck fewer coins than others in certain years. For example, the 1939S quarter can be worth five times the value of a 1939P quarter because fewer than three million quarters were minted in San Francisco that year.
- 4
  Examine the coin for unusual features, such as double-stamped letters. These "double die" error coins can be quite valuable. Some examples of the 1934 quarter feature this mistake and can be worth 20 times the value of perfectly struck 1934 quarters.

Coin Collecting