1965 Quarter
The 1965 circulation strike Quarter is really common in most grades. It is considered somewhat scarce in MS65 condition. In MS66 it is scarcer with a few thousands examples probably in existence. In MS67 it is really scarce with less than 50 known and none existing in.
1968 Quarter Error
1965 Quarter Mint Error (1965 25C Mint Error) NGC AU55. Silver planchet transitional error. Struck on a 90% Silver Planchet. This silver-grey transitional 1965 Quarter shows some mint luster in the devices on the obverse, more so on the reverse. The obverse shows light toning in the field under LIBERTY and on and under Washington’s chin and the front of his neck. The reverse shows slight toning in the field. There is light abrasion and wear on both sides of the coin in keeping with the grade. The strike is average on both sides.
Up until 1965, all United States dimes, quarter dollars and half dollars were made of 90% silver and 10% copper. The Coinage Act of 1965 changed the compositions of these coins to reduce or eliminate their silver content because the price of silver had risen above the face value of the coins. USA Coin Book Estimated Value of 1965 Washington Quarter is Worth $9.54 or more in Uncirculated (MS+) Mint Condition. Click here to Learn How to use Coin Price Charts. Also, click here to Learn About Grading Coins. The Melt Value shown below is how Valuable the Coin's Metal is Worth (bare minimum value of coin). The 1965 quarter was the first clad coin in circulation. It was called “the key coin for commerce” by Robert Wallace; assistant secretary of the Treasury Coin hoarding was rampant in 1964 due to shortage of coins. Prices of silver then were on the rise, and the Treasury continued to strike 1964-coins into 1965.
The year 1965 was the first year of clad coinage, hence the transitional nature of this error. The outer layers of this coin should have been composed of copper-nickel which was to have been bonded to an inner core of pure copper. Clad quarters weigh 5.67 grams. The present coin, which is made of 90% silver, weighs 6.26 grams, the approximate weight of the 1964 quarter. Evidently a sliver planchet remained in a tote bin crevice and later was dislodged and mixed in with the clad planchets. Specialists call this type of coin a Wrong Metal error.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Oct. 30 Rarities Night auction held during the Whitman Baltimore Expo was led by the 1853 Collection, but also included a variety of other numismatic items with fascinating stories.
Here is one of three coins from the auction we're profiling in this week's Market Analysis.
The Lot:
1965 Washington quarter dollar, wrong planchet error, About Uncirculated 53
The Price:
$7,050
1965 Quarters
The Story:
The period between 1964 and 1965 was a busy time at the U.S. Mint as it transitioned away from 90 percent silver dimes, quarter dollars and half dollars, moving the first two to a copper-nickel clad composition and the half dollar to a silver-copper clad composition (40 percent silver). As a result, a few 1965 coins struck on planchets intended for the pre-1965 90 percent silver issues are known. These are coveted by collectors. The error type is also sometimes called a “wrong metal” error.
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1965 Quarter Value Today
This 1965 Washington quarter dollar is struck on a 90 percent silver planchet and graded About Uncirculated 53 by Professional Coin Grading Service. The lot description notes, “Brilliant silver surfaces with a bit of light wear from a short time in circulation prior to it being noticed as something special and saved.” A different example, graded Extremely Fine 45, brought $5,462.50 at a September 2010 Heritage auction.
Washington quarter: The Washington quarter dollar, which has been circulating since 1932, was born out of the Treasury Department's desire to produce a coin to mark the bicentennial of the birth of the first president of the United States. How much are Washington quarters worth?
Possibly the most noteworthy examples of wrong metal/planchet errors are with the 1943 Lincoln cents struck on copper alloy planchets rather than the zinc-plated steel planchets that were used that year.