Have you been looking for 1931 quarters, but can’t seem to find any?
You’d think 1931 quarters are rare and valuable, given how difficult they are to find.
But the reason you can’t land any 1931 silver quarters has NOTHING to do with their rarity.
It’s because no 1931 quarters were struck by the United States Mint at all. That’s right — the U.S. Mint didn’t make a single 1931 quarter. Nada. Zilch. Zero!
Wait, I DO Have A 1931 Quarter… So What’s It Worth?
You say you have a 1931 quarter?
Double check… It may be a 1931 Canada quarter, which was struck to the tune of 537,815 pieces. Canadian 1931 quarters carry a portrait of King George V on the heads side (obverse) and the inscription “25 CENTS / CANADA / 1931” under a small crown and within a maple wreath on the tails side (reverse). The 1931 Canadian quarters are indeed valuable — they’re worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 to $20 in well-worn condition.
If you actually do have a U.S. 1931 Standing Liberty quarter or even a 1931 Washington quarter… It’s likely a fantasy coin. These were designed to appear like what one would have looked like had the U.S. Mint struck any real ones. Such 1931 quarters are worth a few bucks — as novelties only.
Again, there are NO real 1931 Standing Liberty quarters or 1931 Washington quarters.
Read on to find out why no 1931 quarters were made by the U.S. Mint…
Why Didn’t The U.S. Mint Make Any 1931 Quarters?
You’ve probably heard about the Great Depression. It was a prolonged period of economic disaster that rippled through the lives of millions in the United States and around the world.
Spanning from roughly 1929 through 1939, the latter marking the start of World War II in Europe, the Great Depression:
- Caused millions of families to lose their jobs
- Saw many thousands of business failures and mortgage foreclosures
- Brought the many economic gains of the Roaring 1920s to a complete standstill
The economic picture became so bleak that there wasn’t even really a need for new coinage in the United States — especially as it concerned higher-denomination coins, such as quarters.
Even the Lincoln penny, with a face value of just one cent, saw its production numbers tumble during the depth of the Great Depression in the early 1930s. This caused some issues, placing the 1931-S penny on the list of rare pennies worth looking for.
Other denominations weren’t as lucky as the Lincoln cent (which never did see a complete pause in production during the 1930s). The nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, silver dollar, and all of the various gold denominations of the era ($2.50, $5, $10, and $20) saw a hiatus of at least one production year.
Early 1930s U.S. Coin Mintages
These are the mintage numbers of U.S. coins struck from 1930 through 1933:
| Coin | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1930 Lincoln penny | 157,415,000 |
| 1930-D Lincoln penny | 40,100,000 |
| 1930-S Lincoln penny | 24,286,000 |
| 1931 Lincoln penny | 19,396,000 |
| 1931-D Lincoln penny | 4,480,000 |
| 1931-S Lincoln penny | 866,000 |
| 1932 Lincoln penny | 9,062,000 |
| 1932-D Lincoln penny | 10,500,000 |
| 1933 Lincoln penny | 14,360,000 |
| 1933-D Lincoln penny | 6,200,000 |
| 1930 Buffalo nickel | 22,849,000 |
| 1930-S Buffalo nickel | 5,435,000 |
| 1931-S Buffalo nickel | 1,200,000 |
| 1930 Mercury dime | 6,770,000 |
| 1930-S Mercury dime | 1,843,000 |
| 1931 Mercury dime | 3,150,000 |
| 1931-D Mercury dime | 1,260,000 |
| 1931-S Mercury dime | 1,800,000 |
| 1930 Standing Liberty quarter | 5,632,000 |
| 1930-S Standing Liberty quarter | 1,556,000 |
| 1932 Washington quarter | 5,404,000 |
| 1932-D Washington quarter | 436,800 |
| 1932-S Washington quarter | 408,000 |
| 1933-S Walking Liberty half dollar | 1,786,000 |
| 1930-S Indian $10 | 96,000 |
| 1932 Indian $10 | 4,463,000 |
| 1933 Indian $10 | 312,500 (virtually all were melted at the Mint) |
| 1930-S Saint-Gaudens $20 | 74,000 |
| 1931 Saint-Gaudens $20 | 2,938,250 |
| 1931-D Saint Gaudens $20 | 106,500 |
| 1932 Saint-Gaudens | 1,101,750 |
| 1933 Saint-Gaudens | 445,500 (virtually all were melted at the Mint) |
Take careful note of the quarter information above, which shows that no 1931 quarters were struck.
RELATED: How Mintage Numbers Affects A Coin’s Value & Rarity
By 1934, the economy was beginning to marginally, incrementally improve in dribs and drabs. This necessitated the production of new U.S. coins to help supply Americans with a sufficient supply of coins.
At that point, the Standing Liberty quarter had long been replaced by the Washington quarter, which debuted in 1932. Therefore, the 1934 Washington quarter picked up where the 1932 left off. (Note that the 1933 Washington quarter was skipped.)
Are There Other Years That Quarters Weren’t Made?
There were many years during the late 18th and early 19th centuries when U.S. quarters weren’t struck.
Those times were tumultuous for the young United States Mint — which was up against tight budgets, unreliable supplies of silver (for striking quarters and other coins), and simply trying to provide the fledgling nation with a supply of its own sovereign coins.
However, when we look at the 20th century, we also find there were some gaps in production. Most notable was the case with the 1933 Washington quarter, which — like the 1931 quarter — simply does not exist.
I get questions from a lot of people asking why the 1975 quarter is so rare.
The crazy thing is, millions upon millions of Washington quarters were made in 1975. The kicker? None of them carry the 1975 date!
Even though the U.S. Mint made millions of Washington quarters in 1975, here’s why you won’t find one with the 1975 date. (You’ll also find out in that article why you may be in possession of some 1975 quarters right now but you’d never even know it!)
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