The 50 State Quarters Program was enacted December 1, 1997 to encourage a new generation of coin collectors. It’s estimated that nearly half the US population collected the coins, making it the most successful numismatic program in history.
A Unique Design for Each State
The quarters featured the familiar profile of George Washington on its face (obverse) with a unique design for each of the 50 states on the reverse. Five designs were released each year in the order states were admitted to the Union. The program lasted until the last coin in the series, commemorating Hawaii, was released November 3, 2008.
The first coin was released on January 1, 1999 to celebrate Delaware, “The First State,” and featured Caesar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and President of Delaware during most of the American Revolution. 774,828,000 Delaware quarters were minted and new state coins were issued every ten weeks in the order that the states ratified the Constitution or were admitted to the Union.
Billions of Coins Minted, but not evenly
A total of 34,797,600,000 50 States Quarters were ultimately produced. The average mintage was 696 million coins per state, ranging from a high of 1,594,616,000 for Virginia to Oklahoma's 416,600,000. The wide variation was due to several factors including the number of coins needed each year for circulation and diminishing interest in the program as economic conditions worsened toward its end in 2009.
State quarters were produced for circulation at the Philadelphia and Denver mints; proof coins were struck in San Francisco. Oklahoma quarters had the lowest total mintage (416.6 million in 2008) but since circulation coins were struck at two mints, the mintmark factors into scarcity too.
Here are the ten rarest circulating 50 State Quarters according to a recent article in the Heritage Auctions Coin News newsletter:
1. | 2008-D Oklahoma | 6. | 2003-P Alabama |
2. | 2004-P Iowa | 7. | 2003-P Missouri |
3. | 2002-P Ohio | 8. | 2003-P Illinois |
4. | 2003-P Maine | 9. | 2004-D Michigan |
5. | 2008-P Oklahoma | 10. | 2004-P Wisconsin |
Collecting 50 States Quarters
As with all coins, rarity and condition dictate prices for collectible quarters. But you don’t have to be a high-dollar collector to build an attractive collection of quarters in most mintages.
Fifty States and America the Beautiful quarters are a great place to start. Mint condition samples are inexpensive and silver proof sets are available for all years, too. The Great American Colin Company® offers a wide selection of US coins, individually, in rolls and bags, and in proof and mints sets. Visit our website for details.
For more information about the 200-plus year history of quarters, their rarity and values, see the PCGS Coin Facts website.
