That 2019 or 2020 quarter you’ve got just might be worth more than you think! But why? And how do you know? Here’s what not everyone knows, and what you can start watching for.
In the spring of 2019, the United States Mint did something unprecedented.
In addition to the usual quarters slated for production bearing 2019 dates, the mint also had their small branch mint in West Point, New York, coin a select number of quarters bearing a “W” mint mark under “In God We Trust”.
This was unusual for a few reasons.
First, was the first time in history that West Point made commercial use coins. Second, the West Point quarters were made to only about 1/100th of the annual mintage of the usual Denver and Philadelphia quarters. And third, the mint made sure these coins would be special by not offering retail purchasing or product sets that dealers or collectors could scoop up directly – that would have completely defeated any real rarity in finding one! Instead, these W mint quarters were to be found only in circulation.
But why would the mint do this?
It was all part of a coin dealer lead initiative called the Great American Coin Hunt. The mint joined forces with RoundTable Trading Co. and its authorized dealers (including Sam Shafer Numismatics) with the goal of bringing the joy of numismatics to the general public by putting one million collectible coins back into circulation.
These West Point quarters are considered rare coins.
Look for any quarter dated 2019 or 2020 with a “W” mint mark below “In God We Trust”, regardless what the reverse design is. Such a quarter is considered by modern standards to be a rare coin. In fact, these coins already have a following in the numismatic community even though it has only been two years since they stopped being made.
These quarters are already worth many times their face value and are likely to increase in value.
We currently buy West Point quarters for $9.00 each, straight from folks’ pockets! These coins are poised to go up in value: not everyone knows about them, the mintage is very low, and the attrition rate from circulation will make finding mint condition examples increasingly rare.