I need to buy a guide book for the Washington quarter. Before I start putting my set together I need to get better at grading and just knowing what I'm looking at. Does anyone have a suggestion? Red book guide to Washington and state quarters?
Red book is a good guide to start with. Read all of the pages before it starts covering the mintage data. Those pages will give you clues on how to grade and also what to purse when collecting them. For the most part Washington quarters (outside the hand full of key dates) are all very available in mint states at somewhat reasonable prices. Its the Gems that get expensive. Key dates are 1932 D and 1932 S, 1934 D, 1935 D, 1936D. Minor Keys are 1937 S and 1940 D. and then the 1982 and 1983 coins because there were no mints sets. When looking for good Washingtons you will want the obverse fields to be free of any distracting bag marks. The fields are very broad and open so you will find a lot of mint state quarters will have lots of bag marks and abrasions. Spotting is another thing I see often. Either a milky white substance or some times a light translucent greenish color. Depending on your budget you'll want the cleanest fields possible. On the reverse, the fields are much busier so its harder to see any kind of bag mark or abrasion. There's a lot on the reverse so it's fields hide contact marks much better than the obverse. To detect friction or circulation on the obverse you'll want to look for breaks in luster on Washington's cheek then the leading edge of his wig and the curls over his ears. If there is any break or discoloration there, its most likely an AU coin. A lot of times you will detect slight flatness in the hair around his ear as well. This can be from a very weak strike (emphasis on the very), but most likely its flatness from circulation. For wear, the breast of the eagle and the tops of the eagles legs you will want to see feather details there. If those two spots show any smoothness or wear its an AU coin. I've talked with some guys who swear that the earlier (1930s and early 40s) strikes have smooth eagles breast and legs, but I've been able to find examples of each early date with breast feather detail...just wasn't able to buy'em at the time. Most of the time when I see these smooth breasted eagles they are slider Washingtons that have been polished, they just have a slick shine to them that after a while you'll be able to tell. Generally you should be able to find well struck pieces even in the beginning years. The late 40s and most of the 50s, a majority of the coins are not well struck because they were minted with severely worn dies as a cost cutting measure. You'll find lots of die cracks in those years as well. Well struck pieces are available, just at a higher premium. By that I mean for a mid 1950s Washington quarter, average strike you'll spend at least $15-$20 for a MS63ish 64ish coin. An extremely well struck coin from the same year will at least bump it into the solid MS64 if not MS65 range you'll spend no less than 30 bucks. On well struck pieces Washington's hair will have more detail in the wig at the top of his head. IN GOD WE TRUST will be strong (except for the light motto, and medium motto varieties) On the reverse E PLURIBUS UNUM will be strong and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and QUARTER DOLLAR will be strong...not mushy. ALso on the reverse a stronger strike will show more detail again on the eagle's breast and leg feathers. And both lower wing tips will show strong. On average to weak strikes these wing tips kind of fade into the fields. Personally I'm putting together a Dansco 8140 of MS63-MS64 coins. I have settled (and will probably upgrade at some point) for some mushier coins from the 40s and 50s. When looking at them now I see what I've learned of the last couple of years of searching for good hole fillers. Now I execute a purchase much less frequently because I've gotten pickier about what I'm after. My best resource for getting an eye on grading and what to look for have been, for the most part, high res pics from HA.com and GreatCollections.com auctions and auctions archives. I look very often at the gem grades (MS66 and higher) to get an eye for what a superb coin should look like for a particular year and then go from there. There are some great varieties to include, but one that I feel should be included with out a doubt are the proof reverse business strike coins (AKA B Reverse or Type B) from 1956 - 1964. To me they are no different a variety than the small date\large date Lincolns or the the 1982 series of the Lincoln cent which all have holes in the albums and folders, but for some reason on the type B reverses for the Washington you won't find holes in the albums or folders. Its a great series to collect. I have a somewhat budding website (LOL @doug5353 you just posted a comment about my site) that I'm trying to put together on the Washington Quarter in the spirit of the Lincoln Cent Resource website. Sadly mine is very young, incomplete and an ever evolving project, but I believe you might find some useful information there. The address is http://washingtonquarterresource.com/. I'll be as much help as I can, but there are other, much more experienced Washington Collectors who visit out here as well that will help.
@doug5353 - LOL, as much as anyone wants to hear nothing but good, my goal is to disseminate the numismatic information I've gained while collecting the Washington quarter and I want that information to be good and accurate, so I want the bad along with the good...If there are mistakes in my information I want to know...if the site is bad I want to know...so I can learn and make it good. Funny stuff right there...funny
Yes I believe both PCGS and NGC designate them as Reverse B. I Don't like that nomenclature tho. It has an air about it that seems to communicate a variety that's not so dramatic. These were coins that were minted with proof reverse dies. Its bigger than just a second reverse design. But that's my opinion. Not Yet. I've not purchased a raw MS example yet of either the 32 D or S and its because I'm still honing my fake\counterfeit detecting skills. Once I'm confident in those skills, it's my goal to have a section completely dedicated to detecting fakes.
PCGS http://coins.ha.com/itm/washington-...-21143.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 NGC http://coins.ha.com/itm/washington-.../131509-21785.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515
I always enjoy visiting websites built by enthusiasts in a series. Your Washington site is young, but with time and effort you will be able to build a good resource for Warshington collectors. Don't forget to include info about the prooflike coins
Thanks Jason, I appreciate the encouragement. I have a running list of things to cover and will make sure I add proof-likes to the list. Its not one a subject that I've delved much into, but certainly one that needs to be discussed. Are those quarters your?
Yes, they are both mine. PL Washingtons were made in a few basic eras (and I own at least one of each): 1.) Most PL silver washingtons were from the late 40's, early 50's, and almost all come from the S mint. 47S and 49S are the most common. These have a lot of die polish, like you see here. 2. 1969-1972, from P and D mints. These generally have smooth, satiny surfaces. 3. Modern coins, starting in about 1986. These usually have bright mirrors, and come from the first few coins struck on a new die (the mint started chrome plating and polishing dies around this time). 4. Almost every state quarter has PL examples. 5. The ATB quarters from early years have a few examples, but they get scarce in the middle. The last couple of years have been really prolific.
