1965 quarter
The first US quarter made without silver: copper-nickel faces bonded to a pure copper core, with no mint mark. It weighs 5.67 grams.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The Coinage Act of 1965, signed on 23 July 1965, set the new quarter at 0.955 inch across, with a cladding of 75% copper and 25% nickel over a copper core and a weight of 5.67 grams. The Philadelphia Mint began striking it on 23 August 1965, the first coins dated 1965, and they went into circulation on 1 November. The Act barred new mint marks for five years, and PCGS says the Mint stopped using them to discourage hoarding, so a 1965 quarter looks like a Philadelphia coin; PCGS says Denver struck them too, and the San Francisco Assay Office struck 2,360,000 for the 1965 Special Mint Sets. PCGS gives a mintage of 1,819,717,540, struck until the end of July 1966.
Also searched as: 1965 quarter value, clad quarter.
What identifies each coin, from the US Mint and numismatic references. Where a value is given, it is a named price guide’s figure on a stated date; values change, and this page doesn’t buy, sell or appraise coins.
Why a clad coin
The Mint’s release of December 1965 says the three-layer construction gave a coin with little or no silver the electrical properties of a 90% silver coin, so old and new coins worked in the same coin-operated machines.
1964 or 1965?
The copper core shows on the edge of a clad quarter (US Mint Coin Classroom); a 1964 quarter is 90% silver. See Silver quarters (1964 and earlier). A 1965 quarter struck on a leftover 90% silver planchet is a rare transitional error, and NGC notes it weighs noticeably more than a clad one.
Read next
- Next in Notable US coinsBicentennial quarter (1776–1976)A quarter dated 1776–1976 with a colonial drummer and a victory torch in a ring of 13 stars on the back, struck in 1975 and 1976 for the 200th anniversary of American independence.
- In US mint marksNo mint markA US coin with no mint mark was usually struck at the Philadelphia Mint, which left its coins unmarked for most of its history and still does on the cent. Coins dated 1965 to 1967 have no mint mark whichever mint struck them.
More notable US coins
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with circles, lines or squares and rectangles.
Sources
- Coinage Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-81), Public Law 89-81, 79 Stat. 254, U.S. Congress (GovInfo), Sec. 101(a)(2); Sec. 204(a)
- First Striking of Half Dollars From New Coinage Material at U.S. Mint at Denver on Thursday, US Mint historical documents (news release, December 1965), United States Mint, Paragraphs 6 and 7
- Historical Timeline of the US Mint, US Mint, Learn: history, United States Mint, 1965 entries
- 1965 25C (Regular Strike) Washington Quarter, PCGS #5878, PCGS CoinFacts (Professional Coin Grading Service), Specifications; description
- What Coins Are Made Of, US Mint Coin Classroom, United States Mint, Clad coins
- Face Value: Silver Coins in Circulation, NGC news, posted 10 January 2023, Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), Transitional Errors
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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