by Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
1964 marked the tip of an period in United States coinage, and never only for Proof points just like the 1964 Washington Quarter however for all silver cash struck for circulation.
The dime, quarter greenback, and half greenback would all see their metallic compositions modified, with solely the half greenback retaining some semblance of treasured metallic – after which solely by the tip of the last decade.
The Washington Quarter and Roosevelt Dime can be debased utterly, with points dated 1965 and past consisting of a sandwich metallic composed of copper and nickel.
With 3,950,762 units bought, the 1964 Proof Set established gross sales information and capped a decade-long pattern of hypothesis and bulk shopping for. The United States Mint had bought three million units in every of the three continuing years, however public sentiment following President Kennedy’s assassination and the Treasury Division’s fast adoption of a brand new coin to memorialize him undoubtedly contributed to the excessive gross sales. Speculators doubled down on this natural demand, seeing the problem value of $2.10 as a low-cost-of-entry funding with enormous potential upside.
The U.S. Mint, overwhelmed with demand for not solely its Proof units–which took further time and care to provide–but in addition its circulating coinage, would take numerous measures on the finish of 1964 and the start of ’65 to reaffirm its mission to provide cash for the economic system, and not for the pleasure of numismatists and speculators. Whereas some in Congress noticed coin collectors as hoarders who had change into a menace to the economic system, the Mint noticed them as significantly irksome and initiated numerous draconian measures supposed to sit back demand for contemporary coin points. The usage of mintmarks was discontinued and a date freeze was instituted. Commerce was flooded with billions of latest clad cash whereas the nation’s silver coinage was quickly drained from circulation.
An olive department, the loathed Prooflike “Particular Mint Set“, was supplied in 1965, ’66, and ’67. These units, which bought for twice the worth of the 1964 Proof Set, commerce at this time for about $8.00. Up to date collectors noticed little “particular” about them, and after sturdy advocacy by the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the main numismatists of the interval, the Mint resumed its Proof program in 1968, charging $5.00 per set.
The steadily rising premiums charged for U.S. Mint merchandise would proceed to trigger main discord inside the secondary market of the accumulating interest.
The 1964 set, past being the final of the “traditional” silver Proof units of the trendy interval (1950-1964), was the one Proof set issued with a 90% silver Kennedy Half Greenback. This marks it as a one-year Proof sort. Units issued from 1950-1958 included the Franklin Half Greenback and the Lincoln “Wheat” Cent. Units issued from 1959-1963 included the Franklin Half Greenback and the Lincoln “Memorial” Cent.
When collectors are searching for the most effective examples of Proofs from this era, they’re searching for grade and the presence of thick, daring frost, and Cameo or Deep Cameo/Extremely Cameo Proof cash struck in 1964 are comparatively unusual. However, ’63 and ’64 yielded much more of those frosted cash than every other 12 months in the course of the 1950-1964 run, and the supply of Cameo and Deep Cameo/Extremely Cameo 1964 Washington Quarter Proofs is among the many highest of the 90% silver set cash.
The Mint would develop strategies of making use of Cameo frost to cash within the late Sixties, perfecting mentioned strategies in 1978.
What Is the 1964 Washington Quarter Proof Value?
No matter situation, a Proof 1964 Washington Quarter is made from 90% silver and has an precise silver weight of 0.1808 ounces. Which means if silver is $32.44 an oz, then a Washington Quarter struck earlier than 1964 has a soften worth of $5.87.
The numismatic premium for a well-preserved Washington Quarter is price roughly two instances soften, or $10.00.
Coin certification by PCGS or NGC can add vital numismatic worth to the coin, particularly if the coin reveals thick cameo frosting and nearly flawless fields and gadgets. PCGS has licensed 37 Sensible 1964 Washington Quarters as Proof 70, however thus far, no Cameo or Deep Cameo has earned increased than Proof 69. A PCGS Proof 70 with nice eye attraction will commerce for about $300; nevertheless, a badly noticed instance in an previous PCGS holder bought at Heritage in 2017 for $119. That coin bought for about $109 an excessive amount of.
Sensible examples in 69 routinely commerce for $30. In Cameo, a 1964 Washington Quarter in Proof sells for between $50 to $75. The dividing line between Cameo and Deep Cameo/Extremely Cameo might be arbitrary. A superior Cameo might very nicely exceed the attention attraction of a run-of-the-mill Deep Cameo, making a stretch purchase of $75 to $100 for a PQ Cameo a logical play for the specialist collector.
In Deep Cameo/Extremely Cameo 69, count on to pay between $200 and $300… or extra if the coin is really outstanding. This value is down significantly from the $1,000+ prices this issue realized at auctions in the early 2000s. Not all Deep Cameo/Extremely Cameo cash are created the identical; some have simply sufficient frost to earn the designation, whereas others come blanketed in six toes of it. That latter, exponentially rarer coin, ought to convey considerably greater than prevailing charges of sight-unseen cash in the identical grade.
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1964 Washington Quarter Proof Market Knowledge and Noteworthy Specimens
By means of November 2024, NGC studies 22,685 grading occasions of the 1964 Washington Quarter Proof. 6.32% of this whole has earned the Cameo designation, whereas a paltry 1.93% has earned Extremely Cameo. The standard grade for a submitted coin was within the Proof 67 to 68 vary, with a large inhabitants in Proof 69. Assume that cash submitted for grading have been handpicked for high quality. On common, a recent, well-cared-for Proof set will yield 1 / 4 on this grade vary. Count on worse if the coin was mishandled, the set’s packaging is brittle or broken, or the coin was eliminated and put right into a Capital holder.
Additionally by November 2024, PCGS has graded 8,643 1964 Washington Quarters in Proof. From that pool, PCGS has attributed their Deep Cameo designation to five.67% of cash submitted, whereas 11.8% earned the corporate’s Cameo attribution. PCGS’ grade distribution mirrors that of NGC.
That one service’s Cameo and Deep Cameo/Extremely Cameo designation is increased than the opposite’s (given the relative inhabitants dimension) is fascinating however not conclusive. Our assumption is that extra cash have been submitted in bulk to NGC, whatever the presence or absence of frost.
That mentioned, primarily based on our observations, NGC’s 1.93% look of Extremely Cameos is somewhat too low and PCGS’s 5.81% is somewhat too excessive. A extra correct ballpark is 90% Sensible, 7% Cameo, 3% Deep Cameo/Extremely Cameo.
High Inhabitants: PCGS PR69DCAM (110, 11/2024), NGC PF69UCAM (118, 11/2024), and CAC PR69DCAM (0:1 stickered:graded, 11/2024).
- NGC PF70CAM #1272080-013: Heritage Auctions, February 14, 2008, Lot 519 – $2,185. Weaker cameo on reverse held this again from UCAM designation.
- PCGS PR69DCAM #71777169: Stack’s Bowers, June 20, 2024, Lot 6433 – $216.
- PCGS PR69DCAM #1559747: Heritage Auctions, June 10, 2024, Lot 54235 – $508.80.
- PCGS PR69DCAM #7814263: Stack’s Bowers, April 12, 2023, Lot 91557 – $144.
- PCGS PR69DCAM #5685387: Heritage Auctions, October 20, 2020, Lot 25765 – $396.
- NGC PF69UCAM #1833932-024: Heritage Auctions, June 30, 2020, Lot 21126 – $408.
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Design
Obverse:
John Flanagan’s obverse design contains a left-facing portrait of President George Washington primarily based on the Jean-Antoine Houdon bust of 1786. The phrase LIBERTY wraps across the high of the coin above Washington’s hair. The date 1964 wraps across the backside, beneath Washington’s bust truncation. To the left of Washington is the nationwide motto IN GOD WE TRUST.
Reverse:
A heraldic eagle rendered in Artwork Deco fashion is perched atop a sheaf of arrows. The arrows and the eagle’s head are going through left. Two sprays of olive branches kind a “U” form wrapping across the backside of the eagle. Wrapping across the high of the coin is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Under that’s the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Wrapping across the backside of the coin, the denomination QUARTER DOLLAR is inscribed.
Edge:
The sting of the 1964 Proof Washington Quarter, like all Washington Quarters, is reeded.
Coin Specs
| Nation: | United States of America |
| Yr of Concern: | 1964 |
| Denomination: | Quarter Greenback (25 Cents USD) |
| Mintmark: | None (Philadelphia) |
| Mintage: | 3,950,762 |
| Alloy: | .900 Silver, .100 Copper |
| Weight: | 6.25 g |
| Diameter: | 24.30 mm |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| OBV Designer: | John Flanagan |
| REV Designer: | John Flanagan |
| High quality: | Proof |
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