Trying to find modern-era US quarters that are worth money and collecting can seem a daunting task. In fact, it is considering how many regular quarters are in circulation nowadays. Imagine just how many coins you need to go through, and with how much care and patience just to maybe catch one valuable coin.
So, before you rush in, first you need to learn which are the most valuable quarters after 2000. In this article, we will talk about quarter coins from the 50 State Quarter Program. There are billions of these coins minted, approximately 696 million coins per state.
These coins are pretty common in circulation, which means they do not have any extraordinary value. But, don’t despair. Just like with all other US coins, some of these quarters are very valuable, due to minting errors, low mintage, or overall design.
Are you ready to find out which 50 State Quarter coins can bring you some money?
50 State Quarters Program
Between 1999 and 2008, the US Mint decided to put a new state quarter in circulation. This program was called the 50 State Quarter Program. A new coin was released every ten weeks, and each state’s quarter featured an image that best in representing it. Also, each quarter coin featured the exact year when the particular state entered the United States Union or ratified the federal constitution.
However, the thing that makes these coins unique is that each state quarter was produced for only 10 weeks and no more. That means that these designs will never be used again. This is what makes collectors want them even more.
The state design was featured on the reverse side, while the image of George Washington is placed on the obverse side. There is one more thing that you might notice. Since the state’s images are huge and occupy almost the whole reverse side all engraving was relocated to the obverse side.
Those engravings are phrases like “The United States of America,” and “In God We Trust” are all relocated on the obverse.
It is crucial to know the minting order
This commemorative coin program was active from 1999 to 2008. The first coin was released on January 1, 1999, featuring Delaware, while the last coin was released on November 3, 2008, featuring Hawaii.
During this time, the US Mint produced five new quarter coins every year! Each coin design was released in the same order as the state celebrated the “birthday” of entering the US Union.
To be able to know that a coin you are looking at is real, you need to know the exact minting order and years. Here is the accurate list:
- 1999 – Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut.
- 2000 – Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Virginia.
- 2001 – New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kentucky.
- 2002 – Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi.
- 2003 – Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, and Arkansas.
- 2004 – Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
- 2005 – California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, and West Virginia.
- 2006 – Nevada, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
- 2007 – Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah.
- 2008 – Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii.
List Of Most Valuable Quarters After 2000 – 50 State Quarter Program
Before we start listing some of the most valuable state quarter coins, there is one thing you need to pay attention to – mint mark. It is crucial to know where the coin was struck. For instance, all the coins minted in San Franciso are proof coins and silver-proof coins.
All other state quarters that were minted for official circulation originate from Philadelphia and Denver mints. Also, some small amounts of quarters minted for circulation were made in Oklahoma mint. Due to the extremely low mintage state quarters with mint mark O are very rare and valuable.
Quick Price Overview
There is a major difference between the prices of uncirculated and circulated coins. For instance, 1966 Washington Quarters in circulated condition are estimated to be worth between $0,30 and $12,5 while those in mint state are $1,200.
However, a lot of circulated coins are still in good condition and suitable as collecting examples. Here is the list of the top 3 common coins worth investing in:
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How To Identify State Quarters According Their Type
The most important thing you can learn is how to recognize real from the fake quarter coin. There are a few things you need to know to be able to identify coins properly. As we already mentioned first thing you need to remember is the order of the states by year when the particular coin was minted. There are four different types of state quarters – Circulated coins, Uncirculated coins, Clad-proof coins, and Silver-proof coins.
Circulated state quarters – These coins are the most common type. They were minted for general circulation so their mintage volumes are huge. These are still in circulation so they do not have any collectible value.
Uncirculated state quarters – These were also made for circulation, however, they were still not released before they ended up in bank rolls, and in coin collector’s hands. Since they were never in circulation these coins are in great condition. Their overall value is a bit higher than their face value. The highest it can go is a few dollars, not more.
Clad-proof quarters – Proof coins are very valuable since they were minted for presentations, and coin collections. They are struck multiple times in a special process that produces a sharply-defined design and a mirror-like surface. As with all proof coins, these ones as well, are labeled with CAM and DCAM abbreviations. All of them feature a satin finish and the “S” mint mark. Cllad-proof quarters were made out of 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel.
Silver-proof quarters – There were also a set of proof coins struck on a silver planchet. These coins are minted from a combination of 90% silver and 10% copper. Their value is tied to the value of their silver content and the current price of the silver.
Where Should You Look For Valuable Quarter Coins?
When it comes to collecting coins that can still be easily found in circulation, we like to mention that the first stop should be your pockets, wallets, piggy banks, and homes. You will be surprised by how many valuable coins you can find like this if you only pay attention better.
However, if you can’t find what you are looking for, the next thing you can do is search the Internet and buy it online. But you want to buy or sell your coins from reliable and reputable dealers with no risk involved.
Coins are among the most replicated collectible items since they are pretty valuable and pricey. To avoid these unpleasant situations make sure you work with auction houses and certified coin online stores such as – Heritage Auctions, PCGS, Coins For Sale, Stack’s Bowers, or Littleton Coin Company.
Also, you can check web pages like eBay, Etsy, and LiveAuctioneers. We recommend you do this when you are trying to form a price for a coin you are trying to sell. Here you can find all the necessary information about the price range, supply, and demand.
We will also recommend avoiding buying coins here because of the higher rates of fake coins. However, if you must purchase a coin from these platforms make sure you check feedback, comments, and anything that can help you figure out if the previous customers were satisfied with the cooperation with the dealer.
FAQ
Is it possible to assemble all 50 State Quarters?
Of course, it is, if you are not too picky and you are okay with collecting coins from circulation no matter their condition. However, if you are a passionate coin collector, you’ll want all your coins to look the best as possible. Finding 50 different coins in great shape is a tremendous task.
So, yes you can even assemble a complete 50 State Quarter coin collection with all coins in great shape but it will take a lot of time and money.
What state quarters are most valuable and rare?
There are around ten different state quarters that are very attractive to collectors. Those are the following ones:
- 2008-D Oklahoma
- 2004-P Iowa
- 2002-P Ohio
- 2003-P Maine
- 2008-P Oklahoma
- 2003-P Alabama
- 2003-P Missouri
- 2003-P Illinois
- 2004-D Michigan
- 2004-P Wisconsin
Are there valuable state quarter minting error coins?
Nothing is perfect, and no matter how careful you are, mistakes and errors still occur. This is especially true when it comes to items that are crafted by machines. Error coins are not so common nowadays since technology improved. However, some errors are inevitable.
Luckily, error coins are sought-after among collectors and they are prepared to spend a lot of money just to have them. Here is the list of the rarest and the most valuable errors that occurred in 50 State Quarters.
- 2004-D Wisconsin State Quarter Error Coin – This error coin features a cow, a corn cob, a wheel of cheese, and an extra imprinted cornstalk leaf.
- 2005-P Kansas State Quarter Error Coin –This error occurred during the minting process. Problem was that the lubricating grease escaped from the machine and ended up on the obverse side of the coin. The end result is plugging up the letter “T” in “trust” so the inscription instead looked like “in god, we rust”.
- 2005-P Minnesota Doubled Die Quarter – Here we have an error in the form of an extra treetop, You can see that right next to the fourth evergreen tree. What caused this error was a coining die with an area of misaligned impressions.
- 2006-P Nevada Clipped Planchet Quarter – When the planchet fails to move forward, and at the proper speed the strike overlap and ends up damaging the rim of the coin. In most cases, we get partially clipped planchets, yet sometimes a coin can miss 70% planchet. The bigger piece of the coin is missing, the more valuable it is.
Is It A Good Idea To Collect 50 State Quarter Coins?
Many people, no matter if they are collectors or not, believe that it is a great idea to collect 50 State Quarters. Not because they are currently rare and valuable, but because with time they will gain historical value.
Even though most of these coins do not worth more than their face value (when in circulated condition) these coins are still in demand among collectors. There are some quarters that are actually worth at least 1000x their face value! Imagine how much free money that is. If you do the math right, you’ll realize that the answer is right there in front of your eyes.
Hopefully, this article answered some of your questions about the 50 State Quarters. Also, we hope it helped you figure out how to handle your precious coins and where you can look for them.
In case you know some information that we didn’t mention here, please do not hesitate to share your opinions and advice in the comment section below.
