I have a 1961 Washington quarter. I know that is silver but it looks different than the others. It is extremely shiney almost to the point of looking fake. It has the same sound of the other coins when set down on a surface of shaken with other coins. It looks uncirulated to limited. I don't see a mint mark but I don't know if there was a mint mark for this year. I am assuming it is a proof. Are proofs shiney? Do they carry a certain mint mark or lack of one? Should this be treated as silver or as a collectible? Thanks Also any insight on how to tell proof coins for nickels would be helpful
There would be no mint mark for 1961. If you don't have experience with them, then I would post photos here. It's all in the details and the surfaces, but some business strike coins can have proof-like surfaces, or the coin might have been plated.
To add to the previous post, proof is a method of manufacture and it is quite easy to identify a PR of this type, so might I suggest that you google photos of both PR and BS examples and carefully compare the two. Here is a start... http://www.ngccoin.com/NGCCoinExplorer/CoinDetail.aspx?CoinID=15993 http://www.ngccoin.com/NGCCoinExplorer/CoinDetail.aspx?CoinID=15870
Most PRs of this era will not have the, or such heavily frosted devices, so please take a look at other non-CAM examples (fields will be mirrored though). "Shiney" (shiny) could be interpreted in a very broad sense - anywhere from very lustrous to polished - so if you can post clear photos you will get a most definite answer.
