Check your quarters, you *might* have one worth $35,000
For as long as we can remember, quarters have been worth exactly 25 cents. Nothing more, nothing less (for the most part, we’re not talking collector’s editions). But for some very specific quarters — that’s not the case anymore. Right at this very moment, you could have a quarter in your possession that’s worth tens of thousands of dollars. If you have a quarter with basically a typo on it, you’re in luck.
The mint error on the quarters was originally found in a group of San Francisco Proof Errors that was auctioned by the state of California. These rare 1970s quarters are worth thousands now because they have a defect that’s driving up the price for collectors. The defect? The number “1941” above the word “Liberty” on the back, among other noticeable defects. Supposedly, the coins were originally 1941 Canadian quarters, but were reused as American quarters.
One of the quarters made in error is listed for sale on eBay by Mike Byers for $35,000 — “1970-S Proof Washington Quarter Struck on 1941 Canada Quarter NGC PF 65.”
That’s some serious inflation.
“There is a significant amount of detail on both sides showing the design of the Canadian Quarter,” according to the listing. “This is one of the most fascinating and intriguing proof mint errors ever discovered.”
Third-party coin certification company Numismatic Guaranty Corporation confirmed that the quarter is, in fact, real, but they have no idea how or why it was created.
“Yes, the coin is NGC Certified,” the NGC told Snopes. “We do not know how the struck Canadian coin ended up with planchets and being struck by 1970 25c dies at the San Francisco Mint.”
Byers provided more info on how he came across the coin:
You’ll likely never find one though, because they were “proof coins,” and never intended for circulation.
But hey, if there’s a even a slight chance that we could have a quarter that’s worth 35k laying around, better believe we’re going to keep an eye out for all quarters dated 1970.
