1972 Washington Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 215,048,000 made
- Mintage
- 215,048,000
- 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 1972 Washington Quarter worth?
A worn 1972 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 1972 Washington Quarter rare?
- Not by date: 215 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1972 Washington 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 1972 Washington Quarter?
- On the obverse, to the right of the ribbon behind Washington's hair. "P" appears from 1980. No mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1972 are scarcer?
- The 1971 at 109,284,000, the 1970 at 136,420,000, the 1969 at 176,212,000. So the 1972 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1972 Washington Quarter coins were made?
- 215,048,000.
What to check on your 1972
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1972-S Washington Quarter Proof (3,260,996 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. Wear starts on the hair above Washington's ear and on the eagle's breast feathers.
With 215 million made, the 1972 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 1972
Philadelphia made 215,048,000 in 1972, up from 109 million in 1971. In 1973 the figure was 347 million.
1972-D came to 311 million, so neither mint's 1972 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across Philadelphia's 64 Washington Quarter issues, the hardest to find is the 1932 with 5,404,000 made. The 1972 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1970s it's 3rd smallest of 16, between the 1970 (136 million) and the 1973-D (233 million).
Clad quarters and the mint mark move (1965 to 1974)
The 1965 quarter dropped silver for a pure copper core clad in copper-nickel, weighing 5.67 grams. No mint marks were used from 1965 through 1967 and Special Mint Sets replaced proof sets. Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco all struck circulation quarters in those years, so the mint of an individual coin cannot be identified.
From 1968 the mint mark moved to the obverse, to the right of Washington's ribbon. San Francisco took over proof production that year. Transitional errors such as 1965 quarters struck on 90 percent silver planchets are rare and are confirmed by weight. Denver struck more than 417 million quarters in 1970. The 1974 issue was the last with the eagle reverse before the bicentennial design. No quarter carries a 1975 date.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1972
Doubled dies at Philadelphia produced the 1972 Doubled Die cent, the most widely known modern doubled die after 1955.
How to recognize it
John Flanagan's portrait shows George Washington facing left with LIBERTY above, IN GOD WE TRUST to the left and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle standing on a bundle of arrows above two olive branches, with QUARTER DOLLAR along the bottom. The mint mark was below the wreath on the reverse until 1964 and on the obverse behind Washington's hair from 1968.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Washington Quarter (1932–1998) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 215,048,000 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel |
| Weight | 5.67 grams |
| Diameter | 24.26 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | John Flanagan |
Other 1972 Washington Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Washington Quarter | 215,048,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1972-D Washington Quarter | 311,067,732 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1972-S Washington Quarter Proof | 3,260,996 | Proof | – |
Mintage: Washington 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.