It’s easy to understand why many believe this. After all, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to find a United States 1933 quarter. Right?
But there’s an important reason why you’ll never find a real 1933 Washington quarter.
None were made!
That’s right… There’s no such thing as a genuine 1933 Washington quarter.
Oh, you may find fakes — you may find Washington quarters altered to look like they have the date 1933. There are even so-called fantasy coins made to look like 1933 Washington quarters. But there are no real 1933 Washington quarters in existence.
Why Were No 1933 Washington Quarters Made?
If you want to get a better idea behind why no 1933 Washington quarters were struck, you have to take a look back at history.
What was going on in the United States in the early and mid-1930s? The Great Depression.
The Great Depression was a prolonged period of economic devastation with high unemployment rates, mortgage defaults on homes and family farms, incalculable investment losses, and other fiscal crises. The Great Depression, which roughly spanned from the Stock Market Crash of 1929 until the beginning of World War II in 1939, affected hundreds of millions around the world. The ripple effects were so pervasive that the need for circulating coinage decreased greatly in many nations, including in the United States.
How The Great Depression Affected U.S. Coinage
The economic pangs of the Great Depression were so grievous that the need for most circulating coinage in the United States had all but come to a halt.
The U.S. Mint withheld from producing almost all denominations except for the cent for at least one year of the Great Depression. In fact, during some of the worst years of this economic plight, the U.S. Mint struck only the Lincoln penny and the Saint-Gaudens double eagle.
These are the coins that the U.S. Mint put “on pause” during the Great Depression:
- Buffalo nickels — none struck in 1932 or 1933
- Mercury dimes — none struck in 1932 or 1933
- Standing Liberty quarters — none struck in 1931
- Washington quarters — none struck in 1933
- Walking Liberty half dollars — none struck in 1930, 1931, or 1932
- Peace dollars — none struck in 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, or 1933; series officially discontinued after 1935
- Indian Head $2.50 — none struck after 1929
- Indian Head $5 — none struck after 1929
- Indian $10 — none struck in 1929 or 1931; series discontinued after 1933
Coin Mintages Were Small During The Depression
Let’s further emphasize just how dire the economic situation had become…
You see, even among coins that were struck during the most critical years of the Great Depression, mintages were generally anemic.
These are the mintages of U.S. coins struck from 1930 through 1933:
| Coin | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1930 Lincoln penny | 157,415,000 |
| 1930-D Lincoln penny | 40,100,000 |
| 1930-S Lincoln penny | 24,286,000 |
| 1931 Lincoln penny | 19,396,000 |
| 1931-D Lincoln penny | 4,480,000 |
| 1931-S Lincoln penny | 866,000 |
| 1932 Lincoln penny | 9,062,000 |
| 1932-D Lincoln penny | 10,500,000 |
| 1933 Lincoln penny | 14,360,000 |
| 1933-D Lincoln penny | 6,200,000 |
| 1930 Buffalo nickel | 22,849,000 |
| 1930-S Buffalo nickel | 5,435,000 |
| 1931-S Buffalo nickel | 1,200,000 |
| 1930 Mercury dime | 6,770,000 |
| 1930-S Mercury dime | 1,843,000 |
| 1931 Mercury dime | 3,150,000 |
| 1931-D Mercury dime | 1,260,000 |
| 1931-S Mercury dime | 1,800,000 |
| 1930 Standing Liberty quarter | 5,632,000 |
| 1930-S Standing Liberty quarter | 1,556,000 |
| 1932 Washington quarter | 5,404,000 |
| 1932-D Washington quarter | 436,800 |
| 1932-S Washington quarter | 408,000 |
| 1933-S Walking Liberty half dollar | 1,786,000 |
| 1930-S Indian $10 | 96,000 |
| 1932 Indian $10 | 4,463,000 |
| 1933 Indian $10 | 312,500 (virtually all were melted at the Mint) |
| 1930-S Saint-Gaudens $20 | 74,000 |
| 1931 Saint-Gaudens $20 | 2,938,250 |
| 1931-D Saint Gaudens $20 | 106,500 |
| 1932 Saint-Gaudens | 1,101,750 |
| 1933 Saint-Gaudens | 445,500 (virtually all were melted at the Mint) |
By 1934, pockets of the economy were beginning to see slight improvements. Plus, after years of interrupted coin production, the need for new coins was overwhelming by the mid-1930s.
Mintages drastically increased across the board from 1934 on. That’s why many use the year 1934 as a dividing line between “earlier” and “later” coins among series that were in production at that time.
In Addition To The 1933 Quarter, Are There Other Quarters That You Can’t Find?
Many people think the 1933 quarter is worth looking for. But, of course, you now know that you’ll never find one — at least not a 1933 Washington quarter. Canada struck 1933 quarters, and they are silver coins worth much more than face value. But that’s a different 1933 quarter for a different article.
In addition to 1933 quarters, there’s another Washington quarter that people search for but just can’t find.
Know which one it is?
It’s the 1975 Washington quarter. Believe it or not, there are no Washington quarters bearing the 1975 date. However, there’s a big caveat with the 1975 quarter: the United States Mint did make quarters in 1975. And you’ve probably seen some of them, too.
The U.S. Mint began striking 1776-1976 Bicentennial quarters in 1975, and they continued making them through 1976.
The 1776 quarters made in 1975 and 1976 look indistinguishable from each other. So you’ll never really know if your 1776-1976 Bicentennial quarter was struck in 1975 or 1976. But chances are pretty good that if you have any 1976 Bicentennial quarters in your possession… at least some of them may have actually been struck in 1975.
No 1933 Quarter? Others Worth Looking For
You may not find any 1933 Washington quarters out there, but don’t stop checking your change!
There are many rare and valuable silver quarters you should be searching for, including:
- 1932 quarters (D and S especially)
- 1964 quarters
- 1965 silver quarter error
- Valuable doubled die quarters
