1965 NGC quarter

Looks genuine MS to me...not an SMS. 1965 SMS are very well struck, have very clean fields, and few blemishes. The 65 MS quarters have weaker strikes, and fields which look MS, and the normal blemishes associated with business strikes. I'm no expert, but I believe it's standard procedure for the Mint to use used SMS dies for business strikes during this period. There was a panic at the Mint to produce as many coins as possible in order to replace all the silver coinage...anything goes. The whole reason for SMS coins in the first place was for the San Francisco Mint to gear up for Proof making in 1968. If your coin is MS, it is of very high quality, but, if it 's SMS, it looks to be of average or low quality. You can compare it with Known examples of both types and come to a better conclusion than photos can give. I don't think your answer will be as obvious as you may think...the 2 types are so similar that even the experts have a problem with authenticity.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Clad, my posts were ambiguous and led everyone to believe I feel the OP's coin is SMS. I don't. The OP's photos were not great but they do show the die polishing and what almost appears to be some mirroring. Compared to the SMS and business strike coins I posted/viewed, I feel the OP'S coin is more similar to the SMS (in the sense that I could say a type B is more similar to a Proof). You were the first to point out that SMS dies were used for the business strikes and chances are, that's the case here, imo.