1963 Washington Quarter

With the nation facing a growing coin shortage caused by silver hoarders who were pulling from circulation dimes, quarters, and half dollars in large numbers, the United States Mint turned out a fantastic number of Washington quarters in 1963. More than 200 million quarters were produced that year, with the lion’s share coming from the Denver mint, as was par for course in that era.

Here’s a further breakdown of mintages and values for 1963 Washington quarters:

• 1963, 74,316,000 minted; $7

• 1963 proof, 3,075,645; $11

• 1963-D, 135,288,184; $7

*Values are for coins in Extremely Fine-40 grade unless otherwise indicated.

What provides Washington quarter collectors a challenge when it comes to 1963 issues is the shortage of supreme-grade pieces from that year. That’s not a situation that’s unique to 1963 quarters, but merely part of a larger situation, and that is the relative dearth of high-end uncirculated and proof coins from the 1950s and 1960s. Cameo proof 1963 Washington quarters are very scarce, and so, too, are any business strikes grading Mint State-66 and higher. These coins make fantastic purchases for the affluent coin collector, though aren’t generally sought by the vast majority of Washington quarter enthusiasts. Most tend to spend the big bucks not on buying extremely high-grade specimens but, rather, the scarcer quarters from earlier in the Washington series’ history.