1943

The 1943 Philadelphia quarter held the line on silver while two other circulating denominations did not. Philadelphia struck 99,700,000 pieces of the coin, a wartime output level matched only by the 1942 issue, and the composition stayed at 90% silver and 10% copper, a 6.25-gram blank yielding .1808 ounces of actual silver weight. The Lincoln cent shifted to zinc-coated steel for 1943 to free copper for shell casings, and the five-cent piece had moved to its wartime silver-manganese-copper alloy in October 1942; the quarter and dime denominations carried no equivalent substitution and remained full silver throughout the war. That continuity is itself a numismatic point on this date, since collectors of wartime coinage often build parallel sets across denominations and the 1943 quarter is the standard silver entry for the year.

This Philadelphia issue is the parent date for the famous 1943 Doubled Die variety, which carries its own catalog slot; on the standard die-marriage coin, examine IN GOD WE TRUST and the date under five-to-ten-power magnification for any hub doubling before assuming you have a plain 1943. Strike on the regular coin is acceptable but rarely exceptional. Wartime production ran dies harder than peacetime replacement schedules, and softness on Washington's hair above the ear and on the eagle's breast feathers is the norm rather than the exception. John Flanagan's JF initials at the truncation of Washington's neck appear on every legitimate piece and serve as a quick die-marker check during authentication. Counterfeit pressure is minimal on the regular date, but the Philadelphia 1943 occasionally serves as a donor coin for added-mintmark fakes purporting to be branch-mint issues. Buy any raw example with an apparent mintmark certified through PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, or NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company.

The coin is a common date today, set-fillable in circulated grades for modest premiums over silver melt and obtainable in Mint State through MS65 without effort. Above MS66 the population thins; original-skin gems with full luster and crisp central detail earn registry-set premiums. Year-set builders, wartime specialists, and type collectors make up most of the buyer base. For the broader story of John Flanagan's design and the series' production arc, see the Washington Quarter series history.