1932-D Washington Quarter : History & Value

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

1932 was a seminal yr for the United States quarter.

The United States Mint had concluded the design means of the commemorative quarter destined to mark George Washington’s birthday bicentennial and was prepared to start placing the cash by 1931. Launched in 1932, this design would quickly turn out to be one of the crucial recognizable worldwide and proceed with solely minor modifications for 67 years till 1999, when the Mint debuted the 50 State Quarters sequence. Regardless of this future success, the nation was within the depths of the Nice Melancholy on the time, and the economic system was not capable of deal with the whole mintage produced over 1932 throughout all mints: 5,404,000 in Philadelphia, 436,800 in Denver, and 408,000 in San Francisco.

Curiously, mintage numbers from Denver and San Francisco have been tied to the variety of quarters that collectors purchased from the Mint. Since demand appeared to falter after 15,000 to twenty,000 cash, the Treasury Division ordered continued placing at these services. Nonetheless, as a result of these cash weren’t thought-about particularly stunning, they weren’t collected by rich numismatists. Additionally, as the scale of the coin-collecting pastime on the time was dwarfed by even this low mintage, many examples have been ultimately put into circulation, leading to a shortage of cash in MS65 or increased.

It wasn’t till World Conflict II and later that demand for these cash really began to develop. Presently, many examples that survived in mid to excessive grades have been pulled from circulation.

Whereas the 1932-S has a barely decrease mintage than the 1932-D quarter, they’re considerably extra widespread; maybe collectors initially saved the 1932-S at a barely increased fee. Regardless, since each dates are comparatively simple to accumulate in decrease grades, situation is the necessary issue.

What Is the 1932-D Washington Quarter Value?

The 1932-D Washington Quarter is taken into account the important thing date within the sequence, and estimates of the coin’s survival fee fluctuate. PCGS estimates that there are solely 44,000 examples. That is primarily based on a mathematical mannequin and never a hands-on survey of precise items. We estimate that almost all surviving examples would fall within the Wonderful-12 or beneath grade vary and that the variety of surviving Mint State examples is probably going nicely beneath PCGS’ revealed fee of two,359 at MS60 or higher. Solely 136 licensed examples exist in MS65 and above, with 112 graded by PCGS and 24 graded by NGC. Moreover, the very best licensed grade given by both agency is MS66, with solely two licensed examples (PCGS).

In low grades (between Poor and Good), examples promote for between $50 and $70.

Barely higher-graded examples (VF) promote for between $100 and $200 and might be discovered recurrently on-line or in auctions.

Whereas items licensed as About Uncertified are price between $300 to $800, the worth begins to climb for Mint State examples. Even in low Mint State (MS61-MS62), examples promote for $1,000 to $1,200. In mid-Mint State (MS63-MS64), examples promote for $1,500 to $3,000, and in increased grades the value skyrockets. In MS65, public sale costs vary from $7,000 to $15,000, and MS65+ examples can promote for $15,000 to $25,000. A lot of the MS65+ cash we’ve got tracked at public auctions have been upgrades.

The public sale report for this sort, an instance graded MS66, bought for $143,750 within the April 2008 Bowers and Merena sale. Nonetheless, Heritage Auctions bought this identical coin for $74,400 of their January 2018 sale. The one different instance graded MS66 by PCGS was bought by Heritage for $82,250 in 2015 and once more by David Lawrence Uncommon Cash (DLRC) for $64,500 in 2020.

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Market Knowledge and Noteworthy Specimens

High Inhabitants: PCGS MS66 (2, 10/2024), NGC MS65 (24, 10/2024), and  CACG MS65 (19:0 stickered:graded, 10/2024).

• PCGS MS66 #4260522: Heritage Auctions, August 9, 2001, Lot 6044 – $89,125; “The Marquette-Yakima Registry Set of Washington Quarters,” Bowers and Merena, April 2008, Lot 322 – $143,750; “The Burgess Lee Berlin, M.D., J.D. Assortment of Necessary United States Rarities,” Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2018, Lot 4837 – $74,400; Rim firming on the obverse. High pop, pop one when supplied.
• PCGS MS66 #25696037: As PCGS MS65+ CAC #25318850: Stack’s Bowers, February 2015, Lot 1600 – $41,125; As PCGS MS66 #25696037. Heritage Auctions, June 4, 2015, Lot 3936 – $82,250; David Lawrence Uncommon Cash, 2020, Lot 640532 – $64,500. Good. IN GOD WE TRUST is weak. Upgraded one-half level.
• PCGS MS65+ CAC #44108038: GreatCollections, April 2, 2023, Lot 1342346 – View.
• PCGS MS65+ #40811919: As PCGS MS65 #39398250. Heritage Auctions, October 14, 2020, Lot 18159 – $9,000. As PCGS MS65+ #40811909. Heritage Auctions, April 24, 2021, Lot 5031 – $16,200. Upgraded one-half level. Uninteresting brown firming. Darkish spot to the left of Washington’s nostril. Hit on jaw. Darkish spot to the left of T of TRUST.
• PCGS MS65+ CAC #38559948: As PCGS MS65 #60055473. Heritage Auctions, January 2003, Lot 6974 – $16,800; Heritage Auctions, March 2006, Lot 680 – $17,250. As PCFS MS65+ CAC #38559948. “The D. Brent Pogue Assortment, Half VII,” Stack’s Bowers, March 20, 2020, Lot 7182 – $19,200. Upgraded one-half level. Lustrous with gold and rust firming. Small turquoise space close to 2 of date.
• PCGS MS65+ CAC #25662218: As PCGS MS65 #31905054. Stack’s Bowers, July 2015, Lot 4341 – $25,850. As PCGS MS65+ CAC #25662218.Heritage Auctions, December 3, 2015, Lot 3163 – $21,737.50. Upgraded one-half level. Rust and inexperienced firming on the high of Washington’s head and LIBERTY.

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Design

Obverse:

Designed by John Flanagan, the obverse of the 1932-S Washington Quarter is predicated on a bust of the overall created by the neoclassical French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1785. Nonetheless, Flanagan’s design differs from the unique bust in a number of methods, reminiscent of a barely completely different head form and several other curls of hair that aren’t on the bust; for comparability, the bust might be seen on the late president’s Virginia property, Mount Vernon. Below the left-facing bust’s chin is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The legend LIBERTY runs alongside the highest of the coin’s discipline and the date 1932 is beneath. In small letters, Flanagan’s initials JF might be discovered above the “2” in 1932 on the base of the bust.

Reverse:

Not like the obverse, there have been no restrictions positioned on the candidate sculptors when designing the Washington Quarter reverse. Flanagan’s reverse is dominated by a heraldic eagle with outstretched wings and a left-facing head. The eagle is perched on a neat bundle of arrows with two intertwined olive branches beneath and Denver’s D mintmark is centered between the 2 olive department stems. Above the eagle might be learn the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Lastly, at six o’clock on the design, is the denomination written out as QUARTER DOLLAR.

Edge:

The sting of the 1932-D Washington Quarter is reeded.

Designer

Born in New Jersey in 1865, John Flanagan lived in New York for many of his life. He started working with Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1884 on the age of 20 and shortly grew to become a widely known sculptor and medallic artist in his personal proper. Saint-Gaudens made introductions for Flanagan at the USA Mint. Whereas the Washington Quarter was his sole numismatic design, Flanagan designed quite a few well-known medals and sculptures, together with the official medal of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Worldwide Exposition, the official Verdun medal gifted to France by the United States Authorities, and the 1924 bust of Saint-Gaudens. Flanagan was additionally a member of the American Numismatic Society (ANS).

Coin Specs

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