1969 Quarter Value: How Much Is It Worth Today?

Since 1932. Washington Quarters have proudly been an important part of U.S. circulation. Since that time, there have been many great coins produced and the 1969 Quarter is no exception. If you have one of these coins in near-perfect condition, it may be worth a lot of money.

If you want to find out all about this piece including the 1969 Quarter value, imperfections, and errors, then you’ve come to the right place! Let’s begin exploring and learning about the coin as you begin your collecting journey.

1969 Quarter Value Chart

Coin Grade	MS/PR65	MS/PR66	MS67/PR69	MS68/PR70
1969 No Mint Mark Quarter	$5	$150	$2,000	Unknown
1969 D Quarter	$5	$20	$150	$2,000
1969 S Proof Quarter	$5	$20	$500	$25

1969 Quarter Value by Mint Mark

The Washington Quarter debuted in the year 1932 as a commemorative piece to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. He was the famous Revolutionary War general who became the nation’s first president.

Sculptor John Flanagan created the famous image of George Washington on the American Quarter, which was inspired by a bust of Washington. His likeness was featured on the coin’s obverse or the “head side”, and the heraldic eagle on its reverse or the “tail side”. Let’s learn more about its specific varieties.

1969 No Mint Mark Quarter Value

The 1969 Quarter with no mint mark is, in worn condition, a common piece that has a total mintage of 176,212,000. All the 1969 Washington Quarters that did not feature mint marks were created in the Philadelphia Mint. During that period, the mint did not place any mint marks on the quarters.

This specific coin stands among the three toughest and most popular pieces in the whole series to acquire a grade of MS67. In addition to being rare, these coins are usually found with errors like spots, toning, scratches, poor luster, badly-scuffed surfaces, weak strikes, and more.

Generally, higher-grade samples are challenging to acquire due to the condition and grade of a clad Washington Quarter.

Since these elements greatly affect the value, you can expect a cleaned, circulated, and scratched or damaged sample to be worth its face value. The best pieces of the 1969 No Mint Mark Quarters might grade at MS65.

To give you an idea, here is how much these pieces are worth. Starting with a circulated 1969 no mint mark quarter with wear, it is worth its face value of $0.25. Additionally, it gets more value in higher grades.

Uncirculated 1969 Quarters with no mint mark that are in pristine condition are difficult to find. However, base-level pieces that are uncirculated can cost between $5 to $10, while gem-quality ones can range from $20 to $50. The latter coins are valuable high-quality pieces that are worth collecting.

For coins in mid-mint state condition, these cost around $50. An MS66 grade 1969 no mint mark quarter can range from $80 up to $800. The most valuable 1969 Quarter without a mint mark was an MS67 piece that was sold for $3,290 in 2015.

An MS68 1969 No Mint Mark Quarter would be worth much more than this but as it stands, none have ever been auctioned and may not exist.

1969 D Quarter Value

The 1969 D Quarter has a lower mintage than the ones without a mint mark, but it is still relatively common. It was produced as a Mint Strike coin, which means it was made for transactions and commerce.

The total mintage of this piece is 114,372,000 and it was struck with a “D” mint mark. This means these pieces were minted at the Denver Mint.

Like most Denver coins, the 1969 D Quarters are easy to find due to the large number of coins in circulation. Although a Denver struck 1969 quarter may not have a high value, higher grades might fetch a better price.

The 1969 D Quarters were among the better-struck coins in the entire 1969 Quarter series. You can easily find Denver-struck coins that are graded MS67. These pieces become harder to find in MS68 condition and higher. But despite that, there are several known examples in higher grades, and serious collectors who are patient can get the chance to obtain one.

Like most coins, a worn sample of a 1969 D quarter is worth 25 cents which is its face value. Uncirculated pieces cost $4 and above, while gem uncirculated samples can reach up to $18 or higher. MS68 coins are worth around $70 despite their higher grade since these are not scarce. Due to the abundance of these high-grade pieces, they have no premium prices.

Although high-grade 1969 D Quarters are sold at relatively low prices, some pieces with errors have a higher value. One of these is the 1969 D/D error (D over D) that shows repunched Denver mint marks.

This piece can cost around $150 in high-grades while a 1969 Quarter in MS63 condition with this type of mint error was sold for $20. Another sample that was graded MS66 was sold for $144. The record for the 1969 D Quarter is a sample in MS68 condition, and it was auctioned for $3,189 in 2013.

Looking at the table above, you may wonder why and MS67 coin in Philadelphia is much more valuable than an MS67 coin in Denver. As we’ve alluded to, the answer is scarcity. Perfect Philadelphia coins are much harder to find.

1969 S Proof Quarter Value

In 1969, the San Francisco Mint was able to produce 2,934,631 Proof Quarters which is a special kind of piece that never circulated. Instead, it was minted specifically for coin collectors.

Compared to the 1936 to 1964 Proof Washington Quarters that featured no mint marks, the 1969 S Proof Quarter was struck in San Francisco. That means, these pieces featured the “S” mint mark.

These proof coins are undeniably pretty and eye-catching, but despite this, the pieces do not sell as well as the circulating ones. The reason is that they are kept in a pristine state. That means, almost all the pieces are in excellent condition, and you will unlikely spot one in coin rolls.

Modern proof coins such as the 1969 S Quarter are created with polished dies. These are struck twice intentionally using specially prepared dies on high-tonne presses. This process is necessary to guarantee that even the most minute details are struck entirely.

Overall, the Proof 1969 S Quarters had exquisite quality, and samples in Deep Cameo and Cameo can also be acquired easily. But when these are in PR69 Deep Cameo or higher, that is when the pieces become extremely scarce with less than 100 samples known, and none receiving a higher grade.

To give you an idea, here is how much the pieces are worth, Average Circulated condition pieces are worth about $0.25. Then, a piece with a certified mint state or MS+ in good condition could cost around $25 at auctions.

Individual 1969 S Proof Quarters usually trade for $1.50 to $3.00 per piece when they are in typical condition. And for the most valuable 1969 S Proof Quarter, it was graded PR69 Deep Cameo and surpassed the auction block in 2013 for $1,410.

Interestingly, our valuation guide for PR70 coins is less than PR69 coins. The reason for this is the lack of Deep Cameo on PR70 coins, which none auctioned on record.

1969 Quarter Grading

You must first know the grade or condition of your quarter in order to determine its actual value. The system used is a rating from 1 to 70 to grade all coins from all years. The higher the number, the more perfect the coin.

Typically, those ratings are denoted by two letters: MS, which stands for the mint state, or PR for proof coins. It is more challenging to find MS coins in perfect condition since these are made for circulation.

1969 Quarter Errors

Plenty of 1969 Washington Quarters that seem to have errors or varieties are simply displaying signs of post-mint damages. That means they are still worth their face value. However, there are a few extremely rare and valuable 1969 quarter errors that are more than their face value which we will discuss right now.

1. Doubled Die Quarter Error

If you find or have a 1969 doubled die quarter laying around your home, keep it because you’ve actually acquired a pretty valuable piece. For beginners, most coins that look like doubled dies are simply displaying signs of the usual machine doubling. But if it is a genuinely rare 1969 doubled die quarter, it could be valued at $125 or higher.

To determine signs of doubling on a quarter, inspect Washington’s hairlines, eyes, the eagle’s feathers, and the letterings on both coin sides.

2. 1969 Quarter Without Ridges

There are many reports about people finding 1969 U.S. Quarters without edge reedings or ridges. Others assume there is something wrong with the brown copper shade on the coin’s edge or they do not see any copper shade at all.

Most of these pieces are the result of post-mint damages. However, there is a type of 1969 Quarter Rim error called the broadstrike, which makes the piece appear wider and flatter compared to regular quarters. These errors also remove the edge reeding on the coin.

When you see a quarter like this, keep it because a 1969 Quarter broadstrike error can sell for $25 or higher.

3. 1969 Off-Center Quarter

A highly popular quarter error is the off-center strike, and only a few of this piece’s errors are as well-known. Why? Because this mistake is a drastic-looking oddity in a lot of instances. A 1969 U.S. Quarter struck off-center may be as little as a percent to 5% off-center. Or, it could get about 90% or more off-center.

A 1969 Quarter with a 10% or 20% off-center can likely get $20 or $30 from a bid. Good money isn’t too bad for such an error as this. However, if the 1969 Quarter has around 50% off-center but still displays a complete date, then you can get $150 or higher from a bid.

4. 1969 Quarter Struck on a 1 Cent Planchet

Aside from the size of a coin, planchet sheets also define its metal composition, resulting in wrong weight. 1969 no mint mark quarters weigh only 3.11 grams due to being struck on a penny planchet, and the word “LIBERTY” is also cut. This particular piece was sold for $805.

5. Struck Fragment Error

When minting coins, the discs are loaded into a hopper and are automatically inserted into the machine. Struck fragment errors happen when two discs are accidentally fed simultaneously, and as a result, the die presses a truncated fragment.

1969 Quarter – FAQs

1. What percent silver is a 1969 quarter?

This coin consists of 0% silver, 90% copper, and 10% nickel. Since it does not contain precious metals, its melt value is around $0.06. Special limited editions aside, silver was removed from coins in 1965.

2. What year is the best quarter?

It is the 1932 D MS66 Washing Quarter, which is one of two dates that have under one million mintages. This makes the coin a key date and the rarest piece of the series. The Denver Mint only produced 436,800 silver pieces that were worth $141 to $1,228 in circulated condition.

3. What quarter was misprinted?

The (Extra Leaf) 2004 D Wisconsin Quarter is the piece that was misprinted. It features a design with a cow, rounds of cheese, plus an ear of corn. A couple of Wisconsin Quarters were seen having an extra cornstalk leaf that was either pointing down (Low Leaf) or pointing up (High Leaf).

4. What 1969 penny is rare?

The 1969 S doubled die obverse can cost at least $44,000. It could also be as much as $100,000 or higher depending on what grade it receives. Experts claim that the number of known pieces of the 1969 S doubled die coin is only 40 to 50 pennies.