As many of you know, I am a self-proclaimed Washington Junkie. I just love the silver Washington quarter dollars. The feeling of nostalgia I get from my childhood when I find one is awesome. Don't get me wrong, I like the designs of the "art" coins such as Standing, Walking, and Winged liberties more than the Washington, Kennedy, and Roosevelt coins, but the Washington quarter just grabs me. Anywho...today my boss, a fellow numismatist, let me trade him one of my 1964-D quarters that I have for a quarter from the 30's, plus two more for an hour of work. I snagged a 1934 (no DDO or weak motto =( ), 1936, and 1937(no DDO =( ) all Philly mint. I get home, put them in my collection and make an inventory note that I have them. Then I think to my self, just for fun I want to look up how many of each were minted...Well that leads into my current question: Why is a 1936-D valued at more than a 1937-S? A mintage of 5,374,000 vs. 1,652,000. Now, I understand why the 32-D is valued at more than the 32-S, even though the 32-S had 28,000 less coins minted. The 32-S was put away and collected more than the 32-D was. I would like to argue this case for the 36-D over the 37-S but I just don't see it. We're talking a mintage difference of 3,722,000 coins. Even if only 1/2 or 1/4 of the 36-D coins were put away and saved they would still be EQUALLY AS RARE as a 37-S, if not slightly more rare...but not a crazy difference. You look at a coin like the 39-S or the 40-D and it, in MS65 demands a MUCH SMALLER price than that of the 36-D, who in MS65, is valued at about $1,800. Maybe some of you can shed some light on this for me? Thanks a ton! --Rob.
It's pretty simple - mintage has little or nothing to do with value. It's not how many existed in the beginning (when the coin was minted) that counts, it's how many exist today that matters.
Since the market sets the price, and is driven by supply and demand, the simple answer is that fewer '36-D's are available today irrespective of mint numbers. Why are fewer available? Who knows? There are thousands of examples like this. Prices for keys are interesting and worthy of study and speculation. This particular imbalance...'36-D vs. '37-S quarters...is not especially intriguing. Lance.
Two words to consider Great Depression. In 32 few people could afford to put aside coins for collections. So most were spent and wore out over the years. A quarter's life expectancy was the same in 1932 as it was in 1964. This also makes MS coins rise because fewer non circulation examples existed. By 37 we are well on our way out of the depression and coin collecting becomes possible again. People don't have to choose between save the quarter and go hungry or use it to buy bread and milk with some change left over. That's my take anyway.
