1993-S Proof

The 1993-S proof Washington quarter was struck at San Francisco to a recorded mintage of 2,633,439 pieces, a modest step down from the 2,858,981 of 1992 and a typical reading for the middle of the 1992 to 1998 Clad Proof run. The S mintmark appears to the right of Washington's hair queue on the obverse, the position established when mintmarks returned to that side of the design in 1968. This issue is the standard Clad Proof, struck on the cupronickel composition that has defined circulation production since 1965: 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel bonded to a pure-copper core, at a weight of 5.67 grams. The 1993-S Silver Proof shares the date and mintmark but reverts to 90 percent silver at 6.25 grams in a separate premium set, and the two carry distinct catalog values across all grades.

Authentication leans on the brilliant proof finish: deeply mirrored fields, crisp square-edged devices, and the squared rim that separates a proof from a circulation strike. A pocket scale is the immediate test against the Silver Proof companion, since the clad piece registers 5.67 grams against the silver piece's 6.25, and edge inspection confirms the reading because the clad coin shows the reddish copper-core stripe along the rim while the silver coin shows uniform color through the edge profile. The 1993-S benefits from the same mature die-preparation regimen the Mint had refined through the 1980s, so Deep Cameo, the heaviest designation of contrast between mirrored fields and frosted devices, appears on most certified examples. Certification through PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, or NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, is standard for any premium-grade purchase.

In the modern collecting landscape, the 1993-S Clad Proof sits in the deep common stretch of the late proof run, with most surviving examples grading PR68 through PR70 in Deep Cameo and prices staying low until PR70 separates from PR69 on registry-set demand. The audience is steady: year-set builders pulling the 1968-onward Clad Proof run together, registry collectors chasing PR70 Deep Cameo top-pops, and clad-proof specialists working the pre-State-Quarter years. Acquisition is straightforward through major auction houses, modern proof-set dealers, or simply pulling the date from an original 1993 proof set. For the broader story of John Flanagan's design and the series' proof program, see the Washington Quarter series history.