1941-D

Denver struck 16,714,800 quarters in 1941, a sharp jump from the 2.8 million 1940-D figure and the largest single-year Denver Washington output the series had seen to that point. The D mintmark sits on the reverse below the wreath, the standard branch-mint placement from 1932 through 1964. The mintage increase tracks the same wartime production climb visible in the 79 million Philadelphia figure for the year, with both mints scaling up to meet anticipated commercial demand as the United States entered World War II in December.

Strike on the 1941-D is among the better Denver Washington outputs of the early 1940s, with the typical late-1930s softness on Washington's hair and eagle breast feathers improving as the mint's die work caught up to its sister facilities. The grade distribution at PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, shows the coin is widely available through MS65, plentiful enough at MS66 with patience, and meaningfully tougher at MS67 where bag handling and surface marks rather than soft strike become the limiting factor. No major doubled-die or repunched-mintmark varieties are catalogued for the 1941-D, although the date sits adjacent to the 1942-D Doubled Die Obverse, one of the famous wartime varieties. Authentication for the 1941-D centers on confirming a legitimate struck D mintmark; added-mintmark forgeries are uncommon on this date because the substantial mintage means little premium to motivate them.

For set builders, the 1941-D is a comfortable acquisition at any grade through MS66, with the premium attaching only at MS67 and above where registry-set competition drives prices. Realistic acquisition is a certified MS65 or MS66 from a major dealer or auction at modest cost, with MS67 reserved for collectors willing to pay materially more for the top of the grade scale. Long-term pricing has been stable through the middle of the population and stronger at the top, following the broader pattern in the Washington series where condition rarity drives the market on common dates. The 1941-D pairs naturally with the 1941 Philadelphia and 1941-S to complete the date, none of the three presenting a meaningful structural challenge for collectors. For the broader story of John Flanagan's design and the series' production arc, see the Washington Quarter series history.