1943-D

Denver struck 16,095,600 quarters in 1943, the smallest of the three wartime 1943 issues and a step down from the 1942-D output of just under 17.5 million. The coin carries the D mintmark on the reverse below the wreath, the standard branch-mint location through 1964. Composition remained 90% silver and 10% copper, a 6.25-gram blank yielding .1808 ounces of actual silver weight. The Lincoln cent moved to zinc-coated steel for 1943 and the five-cent piece had already adopted the wartime silver alloy in late 1942, but the quarter denomination retained its full silver standard throughout the war, which is the structural fact that makes this issue and its 1942 and 1944 siblings the standard silver entries for wartime denomination sets.

Strike quality on the coin varies. Denver pressed dies through heavy production cycles to meet wartime demand, and the typical example shows softness on Washington's hair above the ear and on the eagle's breast feathers; well-struck pieces with full central detail are meaningfully scarcer than the population numbers suggest. Examine the date and motto under five-to-ten-power magnification before assuming you have a standard 1943-D, since the period produced several recognized doubled dies and a careful look can occasionally reveal an attributed piece. On this Denver issue, no major DDO has been catalogued at the FS-101 level, but die-marker awareness still applies for authentication. The D mintmark should sit cleanly punched and properly aligned below the wreath, with no tooling marks around its perimeter; added-mintmark fakes converting Philadelphia coins into branch-mint issues remain the principal authentication concern. Buy certified through PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, or NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, for 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 1943-D as a routine acquisition; specialists chasing the 1943-S Doubled Die Obverse and the 1942-D DDO budget significantly more for variety slabs. Population reports at PCGS show the issue is common up through gem, then condition-rare in superb gem with full strike. For the broader story of John Flanagan's design and the series' production arc, see the Washington Quarter series history.