Any Washington Quarter Collectors

[Dana]

Any collectors of Washington Quarters out there?

[cladking]

Just the clad issues. I have a set of nicely struck, mostly VF and better coins that I've found in circulation since 1997. I started this set just to see what it was possible for the newbies to find in circulation but have found it utterly fascinating. There are still six major varieties and a few minor ones that I haven't found yet, but I'm still adding and upgrading. Concurrently I'm assembling a set of the worst coins in circulation with no damage. Some of these are really bad. Also have started sets recently of right side up and upside down quarters. When the clad planchets are punched out of the strip the copper core is smeared across the bottom of the planchet. These are then struck in this original orientation or "up side down". Probably nothing to learn here, but figure if you don't look you won't find anything.

I also have a gem set that I've been working on for thirty one years. Most of the regular issues are clean and fully struck. The varieties are mostly choice with several typical unc and the 81-P type "d" reverse is PL gem. A few of the important varieties are only choice AU and may not exist in unc. The set still lacks three important coins.

When I finish this set I'd like to go after the silver issues.

[Art]

I have a set of Washingtons I've been gathering from circulation. Usually the best "quality" I can find. Nothing very unusual about them. I've got everything in non-silver years. A couple of them are real dogs and so I keep an eye out to upgrade them.

They're fun.

I have a nice run of silver issues from the earlier years. I sort of got them from circulation, sort of. A friend of mine at the bank told me he had some silver quarters for me. Turned out to be 4.5 rolls of silver Washingtons. Nothing in the 30s. Sparse 40s, mostly 50s and 60s.

Art

[coppercoins]

My father pulls an occasional silver out of change from the register he works at in the liquor store and saves them for me. I might end up collecting a set of circ Washingtons just for the challenge....I'd make sure they were at least EF.

[cladking]

Anyone interested in starting sets of any circulating coins would be well advised to start immediately. Many of the coins in circulation have not been looked at by a knowledgeable collector but this will no longer be true in just a couple more years. Already completing the quarter set in AU is a statistical impossibility and many XF's are getting extremely elusive. I've looked through 15,000+ coins since 1997 and three of mine are only VF. At the rate the high grade coins are disappearing in only a few years (5) it will no longer be possible to complete a VF collection.

While the hobby continues to mostly ignore these coins, the general population does not. Hundreds of thousands of the folders for obsolete eagle reverse quarters are being sold. They are also being filled up by many of the same people who are collecting the states issues from circulation. Most of these collectors are novices and many are children so some may not even know to look for attractive examples. As time goes on they will have gleaned most of the better date and higher grade coins from circulation. This activity is not restricted just to the quarters either. Sales may be lower for some of the other folders but they are moving and are available in widely disparate places.

[SteveAZ]

I don't have many Washingtons at this point but what I do have is one of my first complete collections. All statehood quarters unc, pr, and silver pr to date. plus I have a full set of gold plated p&d mints and colorized p&d mints.<---they saw me coming on those things.

Steve

[Dana]

Thanks for the replies. I have been focusing mainly on the 1940's, and a bit on the 1930's and 1950's. I've been collecting mainly MS 65s and MS 66's. Nothing spectacular like a 1932 D or S. But I do have a 1934 that is MS 65, another 1934 that is MS 66, and a lot of slabbed NGC and PCGS MS 66's.

I believe that in time, these higher grade quarters will be very difficult to locate, and many at the moment seem very underpriced.

I appreciate all of the comments. Thank you to everyone.

[GarryN]

I took the kids to downtown Chicago today and had a chance to stop in Harlan J. Berk's coin shop. They had a PCGS graded Mass quarter MS62 without the zinc cladding on the Mass side. I was going to ask to look at it and get the price, but a person at the counter ahead of me bought it. I watched the salesman write it up. It was $300. Wow.

[GarryN]

My wife had her annual garage sale at the house this weekend. I dont like to work them but I do enjoy going thru all the change to look for cents and state quarters and such. My daughter called me from the garage Saturday afternoon and showed me two quarters that looked different to her. They did not have the copper layer like the others. Sure enough, she was holding two 1964 quarters, one had to be mint state, the other at least AU. The best looking one had some orange color on the reverse and I thought it was toning, but it looks like something like dry fresh oil. Dont think it was a marker as there is some thicker gook by the edge. But I was amazed nonethe less. Anyone know how I might remove it without damaging the coin?