1965 Quarter Value

Quarters dated 1965 have no mint mark, whichever mint struck them. The Mint made 1,819,717,540 of them, so a worn coin from your change is worth face value. Only a coin in near perfect condition brings more: one graded MS-67 sold for $115 at auction in 2011.

From 1965 through 1967 the Mint made no proof sets. Collectors bought Special Mint Sets instead, with one coin of each denomination struck at San Francisco. The Mint made 2,360,000 of the 1965 sets. Graded quarters from these sets sold for $50 to $660, and the best price went to one graded MS-68 Cameo.

The one worth real money is a 1965 quarter struck on a silver blank. In 1965 a new law, the Coinage Act, took the silver out of the quarter, and the first 1965 copper-nickel quarters were struck on August 23, 1965. Silver quarters dated 1964 were still being struck until 1966, so silver blanks were still around. A few were fed into the 1965 presses by mistake.

These coins are rare, and every one needs a grading service to confirm it. Five have sold at auction. An EF-40 brought $4,500 in 2014 and an EF-45 $7,500 in 2021. An AU-50 sold for $7,200 in 2023, an MS-60 for $6,462.50 in 2016 and an AU-58 for $9,200 in 2011.

Other errors sell for much less. A 1965 quarter struck on a nickel blank sold for $130.43 and $192, and one struck off center brought $192. One struck on a dime blank brought $732 in 2026. A coin missing its outer layer on one side sold for $85, a clipped coin for $60 and a very faint die adjustment strike for $164.50.

• Look at the edge. A normal 1965 quarter shows a thin copper stripe between two silver-colored layers. A coin struck on a silver blank is silver all the way through, with no copper stripe.
• Weigh it on a kitchen scale that reads to two decimal places. A normal coin weighs about 5.67 grams. A silver one weighs about 6.25 grams.
• If both tests point to silver, do not clean the coin. Send it to a grading service before you try to sell it.

The copper stripe on the edge is the quick test. If you see it, you have a regular 1965 quarter.

Condition matters only at the very top. A worn coin is worth face value, while one graded MS-67 sold for $115.

For Special Mint Set coins, the look counts as much as the grade number. One graded MS-68 Cameo, with frosted design and mirror fields, sold for $660. One graded MS-69 without that contrast sold for $132.

For errors, the biggest prices go to mistakes that changed the metal. A coin struck on a silver blank sold for $4,500 to $9,200. Small flaws sold for far less: $60 for a clipped edge and $85 for a missing layer.

Every price on this page went to a coin that a grading service had checked and graded. If you think you have an error, have it graded before you sell it.

A quarter dated 1964 or earlier is 90% silver and weighs 6.25 grams, so it is worth its silver even when worn. From 1965 on, quarters are copper-nickel. If you sort a jar of change, pull out the quarters dated 1964 and earlier first, then check the 1965 coins for the silver blank error. See the Washington silver quarter values for those older dates.