2012-D Chaco Culture Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 22,000,000 made
- Mintage
- 22,000,000
- Metal
- Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel
- Weight
- 5.67 g
- Diameter
- 24.26 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2012-D Chaco Culture Quarter worth?
A worn 2012-D Chaco Culture is a spender: face value. A bright uncirculated one, or one with a known error, is worth setting aside.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 2012-D Chaco Culture Quarter rare?
- Not in absolute terms: 22 million were made. It is one of the smaller runs in the series, though, so uncirculated examples are worth a little more than most dates.
- Is the 2012-D Chaco Culture Quarter silver?
- No. It's copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel. Quarters dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 2012 America the Beautiful Quarter?
- On the obverse, to the right of Washington's ribbon. "W" quarters were struck in 2019 and 2020 and released into circulation in small numbers. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- How many 2012-D Chaco Culture Quarter coins were made?
- 22,000,000.
What to check on your 2012-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 2012-P (22 million made).
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 2012-S Chaco Culture Quarter Proof (960,049 made) is the one to compare with.
- A face that's fully copper colored could be a missing clad layer error. Patchy discoloration is usually damage.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look for luster and freedom from bag marks. "W" quarters in circulation are worth a premium even in average condition.
With 22 million made, the 2012-D still turns up in everyday change. Keep yours only if it looks uncirculated or shows a variety; otherwise it's worth face value.
The story of the 2012-D Chaco Culture
Denver made 22,000,000 of the Chaco Culture coin. Among the 5 designs of 2012 it was the second smallest Denver run, between Acadia (22 million) and El Yunque (25 million).
Philadelphia struck a similar number of the same design (22 million), so neither mint's version is much harder to find.
Across the whole program it's one of the Denver designs made in the smallest numbers, 2nd from the bottom of 56.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 2012
The Mint stopped striking Presidential dollars for circulation after the Federal Reserve reported a huge stockpile of unused dollar coins. They were struck for collectors only from 2012.
How to recognize it
The Chaco Culture design
New Mexico's quarter, second in 2012, honors Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Its reverse shows two elevated kivas, round ceremonial chambers, that are part of the Chetro Ketl great house. Between about 850 and 1150 Chaco Canyon was a major center of Ancestral Puebloan culture, known for its multistory great houses and long engineered roads. The site became a national monument in 1907 and is now a World Heritage Site. Donna Weaver designed the reverse, which Phebe Hemphill sculpted.
The America the Beautiful Quarter design
Each reverse shows a national park or other national site, one for every state, the District of Columbia and five territories, with the site's name, its state and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Five designs were issued each year from 2010 to 2020, followed by a final design for the Tuskegee Airmen in 2021. The obverse uses a restored, more detailed version of Flanagan's original Washington portrait.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | America the Beautiful Quarter (2010–2021) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2012 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 22,000,000 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5.67 grams |
| Diameter | 24.26 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Various (obverse restored from John Flanagan's original) |
Other 2012 America the Beautiful Quarter issues
Mintage: America the Beautiful quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.