1942-D

Denver struck 17,487,200 quarters in 1942, a substantial mintage for the branch mint but a fraction of the year's Philadelphia output of just over 102 million pieces. The coin carries the mintmark on the reverse below the wreath, the standard location for branch-mint Washington quarters through 1964. Composition remained 90% silver and 10% copper, a 6.25-gram blank yielding .1808 ounces of actual silver weight, and unlike the Lincoln cent that shifted to zinc-coated steel for 1943 or the five-cent piece that adopted the wartime silver alloy in late 1942, the quarter denomination kept its full silver standard throughout the war years.

This Denver issue is the parent date for a famous Doubled Die Obverse variety, which carries its own catalog entry; on the standard die-marriage coin, examine IN GOD WE TRUST and the date under five-to-ten-power magnification before paying premium money for what might be a misattributed DDO. Strike quality on the regular issue varies. High-volume wartime production wore dies harder than the Mint replaced them, and softness on Washington's hair above the ear and on the eagle's breast feathers is typical rather than exceptional. Original-skin examples with full luster command meaningful premiums over scrubbed coins in the same numerical grade. Authentication concerns are moderate. The standard 1942-D is not heavily counterfeited, but the D mintmark itself should sit cleanly punched and properly aligned below the wreath, since added-mintmark fakes occasionally appear when an unscrupulous seller attempts to convert a higher-mintage Philadelphia 1942 into a more desirable branch-mint issue. Buy certified through PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, or NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, on any raw example trading above modest money.

The coin is plentiful in circulated grades and through MS64, with a clear drop in availability at MS66 and above. Year-set and short-set builders treat the 1942-D as a routine acquisition; specialists chasing the Doubled Die Obverse variety budget significantly more for the variety slab. Population reports at PCGS show the issue is common up through gem, then sharply condition-rare in superb gem. For the broader story of John Flanagan's design and the series' production arc, see the Washington Quarter series history.