1971-D Washington Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 258,634,428 made
- Mintage
- 258,634,428
- 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 1971-D Washington Quarter worth?
A worn 1971-D 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 1971-D Washington Quarter rare?
- Not by date: 259 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1971-D 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 1971 Washington Quarter?
- On the obverse, to the right of the ribbon behind Washington's hair. "P" appears from 1980. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 1971 are scarcer?
- The 1968-D at 101,534,000, the 1969-D at 114,372,000, the 1973-D at 232,977,400. So the 1971-D is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1971-D Washington Quarter coins were made?
- 258,634,428.
What to check on your 1971-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 1971 (109 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 1971-S Washington Quarter Proof (3,220,733 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 259 million made, the 1971-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 1971-D
Output at Denver slipped to 258,634,428 in 1971, from 417 million the year before. In 1972 the figure was 311 million.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1971 (109 million).
Across Denver's 60 Washington Quarter issues, the hardest to find is the 1932-D with 436,800 made. The 1971-D is one of the easier ones. Within the 1970s it's 6th smallest of 16, between the 1977-D (257 million) and the 1978-D (287 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 1971
The Eisenhower dollar was introduced and the Kennedy half dollar changed to copper-nickel clad.
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 | 1971 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 258,634,428 |
| 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 1971 Washington Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Washington Quarter | 109,284,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1971-D Washington Quarter | 258,634,428 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1971-S Washington Quarter Proof | 3,220,733 | 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.