Miami Valley Coin Club

1981 Type I and Type 2 Proof Washington Quarters

There were 4,063,083 proof sets struck by the San Francisco mint in 1981.  Although a lot of past attention has been placed on the Type I & II Susan B. Anthony Dollar proofs,  the more collected Washington Quarter is beginning to attract the attention of quarter enthusiasts.

There are no figures available to know just how many Type II proof sets were struck. Experts believe that roughly 10-20% of 1981 proof sets were of the Type II design. That means there are somewhere between 400,000 and 800,000 Type II Washington Quarters out there in the world. And though that means that they are not particularly rare, a modern-era coin with a production of less than one million does indicate scarcity.

As for price differences between the two types, when you look at PR70 DCAM grade level, The Type II quarters sell for around $215 and the Type I quarters sell for around $38. This makes the Type II is worth seeking out.

Type I has serifs on the mintmark

Type II mintmark appear bulbous