Finishing a Silver Washington Quarter Book

Hi All,

I inherited a collection of coins from both my grandfathers. They have been sitting in my safe years for the past 10 years and I had something spark my interest last week and dug everything out. I've been doing a lot of reading online over the past few days and most of what I have I guess would be considered circulated "junk" silver quarters?

I started going through and sorting everything and filling in the quarter books from both collections. Everything I have has been collected through pocket change which is pretty cool. I'd like to complete the books and some day hand them down to my nephew as I don't have kids.

It seems there are three ways to do this:

1. Just buy the individual quarters off ebay/coin dealer.

2. Buy rolls of "Junk" silver quarters and sort through till I complete the common ones I'm missing and buy the rares.

3. Trade with others trying to fill in books. As I'm not "established" on the coin forums, I'm not sure how much luck I'd have here.

As I'm just doing books with varying coin conditions and don't really care if they all match condition what is the best way to go here?

I'm thinking of option 2 as the most interesting/fun way to do it but I'm not sure what to do with the extras? I guess I don't mind keeping the extra silver as an investment.



Here are the extras I have, lined up by decade and year. A lot of WWII doubles...



Thanks!
-Mike

 

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Hey Mike.... Welcome to the wonderful world of coin collecting. Filling Whitman books is a fun and rewarding experience..... The more difficult to find coins will be those with the lower mintages. Take a look at the number of struck coins (just under the date in the Whitman). There are several dates like 32-D, 32-S, 37-S for example. There were far fewer of those dates struck and collectors over the years have likely already siphoned them off. So I wouldn’t expect to find them in bulk quarter purchases. I would suggest you Google local coin shops in your area. Go in and show the dealer what you are putting together and he will likely pull out a long box of quarters in 2X2 flips and let you sort through them at your leisure...... However you choose to go about it, have fun and don’t try to fill the book all at once. Enjoy!

 

What he meant to say was mintages

 

Welcome to the forum. That is a nice collection, and the kind of sentimental value you get from a gift from a deceased loved one is unreal.

You could also go to an LCS and ask to trade your doubles for 'junk' silver in different dates. I'm sure they could accommodate that. It would be a relatively easy way to fill in some gaps, and you won't be breaking the bank, just reallocating what you already had.

Thats what I would do, but of course you ultimately decide.

 

Thanks, Paddy. Fixed it

 

I realized that , lol
Anyways , new member to member, Welcome Aboard !

 

Thanks guys! I didn't even think about a local coin shop. It looks like this place is about 10 minutes from me. I'm going to browse around on Friday. https://www.villagecoin.com/

 

I'd be sure to check for varieties first.

 

Dealers love to make new collectors feel welcome. It is in his best interest for you to keep collecting.

Edit... Looks like his Washington quarter inventory is quite full. I believe you found your man.

 

As others have said, there are a few dates that are somewhat rare, and you're less likely to find them in "junk silver" lots -- but in very worn condition, they don't really cost much more than the common dates. They're only expensive in better condition.

The two main keys are the 1932-D and 1932-S. Even these aren't super-expensive in lower grades. But collectors have been hunting them for decades, so (a) you're unlikely to "find" them in random lots and (b) there are quite a few fakes with added mintmarks.

 

Thanks for the replies, I'm looking forward to learning some more and adding to the books. I just finished combining the dimes from both collections and filling in the books. If these things could talk... I wonder if any of the 1940s and earlier stuff was ever over in Europe or the Pacific? Pretty cool to think about...

 

I am totally the same way with my coins. Everyone collects for their own reasons. Myself, I love them for the history and the stories they tell me when I study them.

 

Since you're considering passing them to your nephew, you might want to work together with him, so that he can learn with you, if he is
old enough.?

 

He just turned 5. I have some newer books that I will introduce later with face value stuff. I'll hold onto the valuable stuff until he shows a real interest or gets in my will. I'm not that old.. hah.

 

Welcome to CT. That's a nice beginning to a complete a silver quarter collection. Except for a few dates and mintmarks it should be easy to complete.

 

That shop is pretty well known around the country and I think their reputation is pretty good. You're lucky. They advertise in the major publications. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome aboard Mike!

Make a list of the Washington Quarters that you need.

Find a coin dealer that will let you "hand pick" through the "junk" quarters.

Over time, you should be able to find all but the 32-D and 32-S.

Now a days, you should be able to buy a 32-D or 32-S at a reasonable price. But be warned there are a lot of counterfeits/alterations for these two dates. Buy from a trusted source. I would wait on these two until you become more knowledgeable.

Find coins that even though worn, do not have rim dings, cleaning, etc. If they do not look nice, pass on the purchase. These are all relatively common and you will find a nice one eventually. Be patient and take your time.

And, never ever, ever...clean your coins!

Please keep us updated on your progress filling these holes in the Washington Quarter folders.

Good luck!

 

Browse and take notes at first. See if they sell bulk silver rolls. You need to learn pricing and grading before you make purchases that are at a premium from the silver value. I took a quick look at their website, and they actually have a lot of inventory priced, but a spot check of prices seem high if I compare with the PCGS Retail Price Guide.

1936-D AU+ $623 (PCGS = $325)
1937 XF $27.80 (PCGS = $9)
1946-S BU $34 (PCGS MS63 = $12)

Also, check to see if there are any coin shows near you that you can attend. It looks like there's one in Nashua on December 6 with 20+ dealers, and one in Manchester on January 29-30 that is bigger.

Download the PCGS Photograde and CoinFacts apps, as these are good to have at your fingertips.

 

Mike - my local coin store let’s me look through their junk silver, most do. From that you should be able to find every Washington quarter except the ‘32-D & S, every Mercury dime except ‘16-D, ‘21 P & D, every Roosevelt Dime and every Franklin half. Good luck.

 

The hunt is where the fun is.