Last updated: August 12, 2026

Which Quarters Are Worth Money?

A ranked, auction-sourced look at the 100 most valuable quarters ever sold — from a 1796 Draped Bust worth $1.74 million to the modern 2019-W San Antonio Missions quietly hiding in pocket change.

Every quarter you spend has a date and a mint mark, and both of those two tiny details decide whether you're holding twenty-five cents or a small fortune. Silver quarters minted before 1965 are worth more than face value the moment you pick them up, but the real money is in the dates that were struck in small numbers, the varieties where a die got reused with a new date punched over the old one, and the proof coins the Mint made almost exclusively for well-connected collectors in the 1800s.

This list pulls together confirmed auction results and dealer records for the 100 highest-selling quarters in U.S. history, spanning the Draped Bust issues of the 1790s all the way to a 2019 national park quarter that turned up in a coin roll. Use the filters below to sort by series, variety type, or mint mark, and tap any row to see the full story behind that coin.

Top 100 Most Valuable Quarters

Ranked by confirmed auction and dealer sale prices. Click any coin for details.

RankCoinSeriesPrice

I Think I Have One — Now What?

1

Stop. Don't clean it.

Cleaning or polishing an old quarter strips away original luster and toning, and can cut its value by more than half. Handle it by the edges and set it aside in a soft envelope or coin flip.

2

Verify before you spend anything

Before paying a grading fee, check your coin against known varieties using a free online coin identifier to confirm the date, mint mark, and rough value range.

3

Submit to PCGS or NGC

If the coin looks like a genuine key date, overdate, or proof, send it to PCGS or NGC for professional grading and authentication. A certified grade removes doubt and unlocks the strongest buyer pool.

4

Pick the right selling venue

Common silver dates do fine on eBay or GreatCollections. Six-figure rarities like a Carson City Seated Liberty or an 1796 belong at Heritage Auctions or Stack's Bowers, where serious collectors actually bid.

5

Watch for fakes

The 1918/7-S overdate, 1932-D Washington, and any Carson City Seated Liberty quarter are among the most counterfeited and altered dates in the series. Buy and sell only certified examples for anything above a few hundred dollars.

Understanding Quarter Values

Silver content sets the floor

Every quarter struck from 1796 through 1964 is 90% silver, so even a worn, common-date example is worth several times its 25-cent face value just for the metal. Anything struck 1965 or later is copper-nickel clad and worth face value unless it's a rare variety or a modern proof. For a deeper walkthrough of how melt value and collector value interact, see this complete guide to quarter values.

Silver Seated Liberty quarter next to a modern copper-nickel clad Washington quarter showing color difference
Silver quarters (pre-1965) show a warmer, denser look than clad issues.

Mint marks and low mintages

A quarter's mint mark tells you where it was struck, and that single letter can be the difference between a common coin and a five-figure one. Carson City (CC) quarters are scarce because that mint only ran from 1870 to 1893. Denver's 1932-D and San Francisco's 1932-S are chased hard because both had mintages under a million in the first year of the Washington design.

Close-up of the CC mint mark on the reverse of a Carson City Seated Liberty quarter
Mint marks on Seated Liberty and Barber quarters sit on the reverse, below the eagle.

Overdates, errors, and die varieties

Before the 20th century, dies were expensive to make, so mints sometimes punched a new year's date directly over an old die. The result is an overdate like 1827/3 or 1918/7-S, where the earlier digit is faintly visible underneath. The 1828 quarter struck on a half dollar planchet is one of the strangest and most valuable denomination errors in American coinage.

Magnified view of an overdate variety showing the earlier digit visible beneath the punched-over date
Overdates require magnification to spot the underlying digit.

Condition drives the multiplier

A worn 1932-D might bring a few hundred dollars, while a gem uncirculated example has sold for well into six figures. Grading services use a 1-70 scale, and jumps of even a single point near the top of that scale can multiply the price several times over. Strike quality, luster, and the absence of scratches or cleaning all factor into the final number.

Side by side comparison of a circulated worn quarter and a gem uncirculated quarter with full mint luster
Grade is often worth more than rarity alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which quarters are worth money and should I keep?
Any quarter dated 1964 or earlier is 90% silver and worth several times face value for the metal alone. Beyond that, watch for key dates like 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters, Carson City Seated Liberty issues, overdates like 1918/7-S, and proof coins. Condition and rarity both matter more than age alone.
How do I know which quarters are worth money in my collection?
Start with the date and mint mark. Pre-1965 quarters are silver by default. After that, look for low-mintage dates, doubled dies, off-center strikes, and W mint marks on 2019-2020 America the Beautiful quarters. A magnifier and a grading reference help before you get too excited about a find.
Which state and national park quarters are worth money today?
Most circulated 50 State and America the Beautiful quarters are worth face value. The exception is the 2019-W series, struck with a West Point mint mark and slipped into circulation in small numbers. The San Antonio Missions design is the scarcest of the five and has sold for tens of thousands of dollars in top grades.
What makes certain quarters worth money compared to others?
Five things drive value: silver content, mintage numbers, condition, die varieties or errors, and collector demand. A common date in a spectacular grade can beat a rare date in a beat-up grade, so grading matters as much as the year stamped on the coin.
Which quarters are worth money from the early 1900s?
The 1901-S Barber quarter is the king of the series and has sold for over half a million dollars in gem condition. Other standouts from this era include the 1913-S Barber, the 1916 Standing Liberty, and the 1918/7-S overdate, all struck in tiny numbers relative to demand.
Are there specific mint marks that indicate which quarters are worth money?
Carson City coins (CC mint mark) are almost always valuable because the mint only operated from 1870 to 1893. San Francisco (S) and Denver (D) key dates like 1932-D and 1932-S carry big premiums too, as does the West Point (W) mark on 2019 quarters.
Which quarters are worth money if they have errors or overdates?
Overdates such as 1827/3, 1823/2, 1824/2, and 1918/7-S happen when the mint reused an old die and punched a new date over it. These varieties often sell for many multiples of a normal date. The 1828 quarter struck on a half dollar planchet is one of the most famous denomination errors in the series.
How can I tell if a well-worn quarter is still worth money?
Even heavily circulated quarters retain silver melt value if minted before 1965, and rare dates like 1932-D hold collector value regardless of wear. Weigh the coin and check the date and mint mark carefully before assuming a worn coin is worthless.
Where should I look to find which quarters are worth money?
Check coin jars, bank rolls, inherited collections, and estate sale boxes. Silver quarters and 2019-W issues still turn up in circulation occasionally. Coin shows and online auction archives are good places to compare your find against recent sale prices.

About This Guide

This guide was compiled by Margaret Holloway, a coin collector based in Richmond, Virginia who has spent close to twenty years chasing Seated Liberty and Barber quarters at regional shows and estate auctions. She got hooked after finding a worn 1877-CC dime in a jar of her grandfather's change and has been buried in coin folders ever since.

Prices in this guide are drawn from verified auction results at major houses, published price guide data, and certified population reports from the major third-party grading services. Numbers reflect the specific coin, grade, and sale noted at the time of the transaction and can shift as new records are set.

This site is independently maintained and is not affiliated with PCGS, NGC, or the U.S. Mint. Page content was last reviewed and updated August 12, 2026.

— Margaret Holloway

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