Today's laundromat haul

Can't really tell if the Blue Ridge is a proof or business strike. It doesn't have the look of a proof but it's from circulation, so I don't know. I think it's a business strike. Anybody with a better eye than me know?

 

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Nice finds!

 

Looks like it was worth the trip. Just wash your hands mister!

 

The S mint mark is for proofs. I don't think there were circulating issues with it. But is it silver?

 

Yes, sir! LOL

 

Nope, no silver. 2015 S Blue Ridge Parkway Quarter Uncirculated Coin Value Prices, Photos & Info

 

I cringe when I see people reach into change return bins looking for coins but that's just me of course....

 

No, it's not silver. From 2012 through to the remainder of the series, San Francisco minted non-proof (business strike?) coins. That's what I was wondering if this is. I think it is. It doesn't have the frosty and mirror-like surfaces of a proof. Either way, it's nice to find in the wild.

 

I definitely always wash my hands! LOL. This is a laundromat. I stick the currency in the machine and the quarters come piling out, so there's going to be some contact. After I do a coin dump in the machine at the credit union, I ALWAYS wash afterwards. You wouldn't believe the amount of people I've seen go before me and take their ticket straight to the teller. Yuck! I go straight to the restroom and wash!

 

Usually the proofs are very easy to distinguish, even heavily impaired. I stopped collecting US coins a while back, so I don't really know lots of the ins and outs of modern issues.

 

Well done!!

 

Nice haul!
The 2015 in that condition would show the mirrors if it was a proof.

 

Ok. I appreciate it. That was sorta what I was thinking, but I wanted a second opinion from someone with more knowledge. Thank you.

 

Nice finds! Are you actually washing clothes there or just heading in to the change machine and dropping a $20? (Not hating, I used to hit up a car wash on the way home from work and grab $20 worth of quarters to look through every now and again.)

 

If not, then he might as well since he's there already. I used to look in return bins also as a kid until my mother slapped my hand. I don't do that anymore.
I have other sources for quick finds....

 

I'm just slipping in there and feeding cash to the machine and leaving. I spend ~$100 once or twice a month. I don't know where they get their quarters from, but it's turned out to be a great source of nice finds for me.

 

The S appears to be a proof, if it was a business strike it would look like a regular quarter. I have 2 S business strikes, Shenandoah and Blue Ridge. They look like regular quarters except for the S mm. Yours does not look like a regular quarter.
Not all proofs have mirrored finishes. The luster on the obverse is a clue that it is a proof. A better photo of the reverse would help, but I don't see this as a business strike.

 

2012-2021 America the Beautiful (National Park) quarters did have S-minted clad business strikes made as well, sold directly to collectors from the Mint. (As do the American Women quarters; oddly not the 2021 Crossing the Delaware quarter though.) They weren't intended to circulate, but some do end up in circulation sometimes so it's worth keeping your eye out for them. Presumably some collectors who had more than they cared to keep spent a few. Design by design, each is actually rarer than any individual design of the W-minted quarters, usually with a mintage of about a million give or take. (Though less demanded, so not quite as valuable, but still.)

I think the coin OP posted is likely one of them.

(They do exist in silver proof too and boy would that be a rare find in circulation! One in the picture though is pretty clearly clad, you can see some of the copper on the edge.)

I think it does look like a regular quarter, granted one in really good condition, but it doesn't really have the appearance of a proof. I definitely think it's an S-minted business strike. All of the ATB proof quarters had mirror finishes, and even after some circulation they're still evident. Could be the quality of the picture or the lighting, but I don't think this one is a proof.

 

Little side note I forgot to add:
Back when I was collecting ATB quarters as they came out, I often ordered rolls from the Mint, and I figured the S-minted quarters meant I only had to buy one roll instead of the two rolls of the P & D set. I would then pick the best one I could find in the roll for the album, then would just spend the rest (I often gave my father a few who saved them). So I'm probably responsible for at least a few of these ending up in circulation lol. I imagine at least a few collectors did the same thing.

Not long ago at work I found an S-minted business strike quarter myself, for Kisatchie National Forest (Louisiana).

 

Did you ever have any luck at the car wash?