1965 Washington Quarter SMS
Special Mint Set struck at the San Francisco Mint · 2,360,000 made
- Mintage
- 2,360,000
- 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 1965 Washington Quarter SMS worth?
Age alone gives this coin a small premium, even worn. Sharp details and original surfaces push it higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Grade and, for proofs, strong cameo contrast
- A known variety for the date: 1965 Silver Quarter (Transitional Error)
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1965 Washington Quarter SMS rare?
- Not especially. The Mint made 2,360,000 for collectors. Most were kept in their original packaging.
- Is the 1965 Washington Quarter SMS 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 1965 Washington Quarter?
- No mint mark. Mint marks were suspended in 1965–1967.
- How many 1965 Washington Quarter SMS coins were made?
- 2,360,000.
What to check on your 1965
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the edge for the copper stripe of the new clad coinage. A 1965 coin that is solid silver and weighs more than normal could be a rare transitional error struck on a leftover silver planchet.
- Look for the 1965 Silver Quarter (Transitional Error).
- Judge the grade under good light. Wear starts on the hair above Washington's ear and on the eagle's breast feathers.
The story of the 1965
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 1965
The Coinage Act of 1965 replaced silver in dimes and quarters with copper-nickel clad copper and cut the half dollar to 40% silver. Mint marks were dropped from 1965 to 1967 and Special Mint Sets replaced proof sets.
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 | 1965 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Special Mint Set |
| Mintage | 2,360,000 |
| 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 1965 Washington Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Washington Quarter | 1,819,717,540 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1965 Washington Quarter SMS | 2,360,000 | Special Mint Set | – |
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.