1982-D

The 1982-D quarter shares its calendar year with the Mint's decision to skip the standard Uncirculated Coin Set, a packaging gap that runs across 1982 and 1983 and has driven a condition-scarcity reputation for both years. Production reached 480,042,788 pieces at Denver under the standard clad composition, with the issue weighing 5.67 grams and showing the reddish edge line of post-1965 construction. The D mintmark sits at the right of Washington's hair queue on the obverse, in the position fixed since 1968. The only collector packaging that carried 1982-D quarters was the low-volume Souvenir Mint Set sold at Mint visitor centers, and original-quality examples in that source today bring meaningful premiums when intact.

Strike quality on the date follows the recognizable early-1980s Denver pattern: visible softness on Washington's hair above the ear and on the eagle's breast feathers at center reverse, with sharp central detail genuinely scarce. The absence of standard mint set distribution compounds the typical Denver strike issue because 1982-D quarters that survive today almost all came from circulating bags, where abrasive contact pushed most examples down to MS63 or MS64 even when never spent. No major doubled-die or repunched-mintmark varieties have been recognized for the date by PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, or NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company. Counterfeit pressure is absent at face-value trading levels.

The 1982-D is a common Regular issue in low Mint State but a meaningful condition rarity at MS66 and above, with population reports thin in Gem grades. Registry collectors and condition-set assemblers seek the date specifically for that scarcity profile, and certified MS66 and MS67 examples carry premiums that surrounding common dates do not command. Year-set builders fill the slot easily in circulated grades or MS63; the upgrade path runs into firm resistance above MS65 because the source pool simply lacks the kind of preserved mint set material that other modern Washingtons offer. Original BU rolls and surviving Souvenir Mint Sets remain the practical hunting ground. For the broader story of John Flanagan's design and the series' production arc, see the Washington Quarter series history.