United States 1973 quarter dollar
The Washington quarter superseded the Standing Liberty quarter in 1932 and is still in production, nearly ninety years later. The type was silver for 1932-64. The 1964 and 1964-D, the last silver dates, were struck 1964-65 in massive quantities in a futile attempt to drown the coin hoarders in silver. The mint, in the end, could not stem rising bullion prices and the denomination was converted to copper-nickel in 1965, which alloy is still in use. This 1973 from Philadelphia is common yet is surprisingly difficult to find choice as most were slovenly made and carelessly handled. Even the example shown here has several significant bag marks.
Recorded Mintage: 346,924,000.
Specification: 5.67 g, copper-nickel clad copper, 24.3 mm diameter, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM 195a.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
Link to: