1951 Washington Quarter

With the decade of the 1950s marching forward, production of the Washington quarter did, too, with the series entering its 20th year. With two decades of Washington quarters in circulation – hundreds of millions of coins – earlier quarters series from the 20th century, which would be the Standing Liberty quarter (1916-1930) and the earlier Barber quarter were fast becoming obsolete. Though early pieces were still found in circulation by coin collectors with a keen eye.

Massive production figures for the 1951 Washington quarter only continued to edge away at the frequency with which those earlier quarters appeared in circulation. Here’s a breakdown of mintage figures and values for 1951 Washington quarters:

• 1951, 43,448,102 minted; $7

• 1951 proof, 57,500; $70

• 1951-D, 35,354,800; $7

• 1951-S, 9,048,000; $8

*Values are for coins in Extremely Fine-40 condition, unless otherwise noted.

There were no significant varieties or rarities to come from the batch of 1951 quarters, which means fewer pricey targets for coin collectors to have to spend time searching for and money buying. If seeking high-end coins is your cup of tea (and, let’s face it, isn’t the search half – or more – the fun of the hobby?), then consider assembling a set of Washington business-strike quarters from 1951 in the uncirculated grades. The goal wouldn’t be too overwhelming for most coin collectors, even those on a budget, but requires a little extra searching to find examples in premium condition.