The Washington Quarter was introduced in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington—Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States of America. The coin was originally intended to be issued only for a single year. However, the design was permanently adopted. The original design was produced until 1998 amidst a change in composition from silver to copper-nickel clad. Following this change, the obverse portrait of Washington designed by John Flanagan carried over to the subsequent quarter series.
1998-D Washington Quarter
The reverse of the design featured an eagle with its wings spread, perched atop a bundle of arrows and olive branches below the eagle. Initially, the mint mark was located on the reverse under olive branches. However, in 1968, the mint mark was moved to the obverse, to the right of Washington’s bust. The coins were produced at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints throughout the series and carried the “P,” “D,” and “S” mint marks.
Washington Quarter Notes:
Throughout the series, multiple instances occurred in which Double Die Obverse varieties exist. The mintages for these varieties are included in the mintages for the 1937, 1942-D, 1943, and 1943-S Washington Quarters.
The mintage for the 1934 Washington Quarter includes the Double Die, Light Motto, and Heavy Motto varieties.
The mintage for the 1941-S Washington Quarter reflects the total mintage of the Large Mint Mark and Small Mint Mark varieties.
The mintage for the 1950 D Over S Washington Quarter is included in the mintage for the 1950-D Washington Quarter, and the mintage for the 1950 S Over D Washington Quarter is included in the mintage for the 1950-S Washington Quarter.
The 1965 Washington Quarter has the highest mintage, with a mintage of 1,819,717,540.
Under the Coinage Act of 1965, the silver content was eliminated from the dime and quarter dollar, making the 1964 Washington Dollar the last issue of the denomination struck for circulation in the composition of 90% silver and 10% copper.
In 1970, the 1970-D Washington Quarters were accidentally struck on metal intended for dimes, making them lightweight compared to other coins in the series.
Washington Quarters struck in 1975 and 1976 had a dual dating of “1776-1976” to celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States. Because of this, the table does not include 1975, and the mintage for 1976 represents the total mintage for coins struck with the dual date.
