Mintage figures for State quarter dollars are something longtime collectors depend on and new collectors are learning to appreciate.
The release of mintage figures for the 2004 Wisconsin State quarter by the U.S. Mint is the latest example. The Wisconsin State quarter was the fifth and final State quarter produced in 2004.
As reported in Coin World's Feb. 7 issue, the total mintage for the 2004 Wisconsin State quarters is 453.2 million coins. That figure ties with the mintage for the 2003 Missouri quarter for the second lowest in the program. Only the 2003 Maine State quarter has a lower total mintage, at 448.8 million coins.
Those figures tell collectors that production of the Wisconsin coin was among the lowest. For some collectors that might explain why they haven't been able to find them in their geographic area. To others it means in the future the Wisconsin quarter may be somewhat harder to locate than previous or future issues. Still, a mintage of 453.2 million coins means the Wisconsin quarter is by no means rare.
When the Wisconsin quarter total is added to previous mintages tallied since the program began in 1999 with the Delaware quarter, the combined six-year mintage from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints is 23,704,560,000 State quarters.
Mintage figures also sometimes answer questions like the one posed by Colorado collector Dr. Peter W. Schlesiona.
Recently he wrote to Coin World giving us an update on his hunt for 1999-D New Jersey quarters (those struck at the Denver Mint, which is about 30 miles from his home).
"A year or so ago I mentioned that the New Jersey quarters seem to be the most elusive. I was trying to collect $10 worth purely from pocket change, no special efforts. I believe, at the time, I had come up with only $6 worth. More than a year later I am still up to only $7.75."
Schlesiona has wondered in the past why it is so hard to find Denver-struck coins when he's practically in the Mint's backyard. Obviously it's not a case of lack of coins. Why do coins of a particular Mint mark only seem available in some parts of the country and not in others?
The State quarters have been more or less evenly produced at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. The reason the West Coast doesn't see many Philadelphia-struck coins and the East Coast not many Denver-struck coins is more of a distribution situation than a production situation.
Generally, coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint are released into circulation in the East, while coins struck at the Denver Mint are generally released into commerce in the West. For example, when the New York Federal Reserve Bank orders coins from the Mint, it's most likely that Philadelphia Mint coinage will be sent.
However, if more Denver-struck coins are available, it's possible those coins would be used to fill the New York order.
The mintage of the 1999-D New Jersey quarter may also account for their scarcity in circulation in some areas. The 1999-D New Jersey quarter has the lowest mintage of the 1999 State quarters, so there aren't as many 1999-D New Jersey quarters out there as the other designs. The Denver Mint struck 299,028,000 New Jersey quarters, and 363,200,000 New Jersey coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Total New Jersey quarter production was 662,228,000.
Many collectors who've come late to the program, thereby not having immediate access to earlier issues, are now trying to fill in the blanks in their collections. Those collectors should take heart and keep looking for the coins they need. Remember the Mint has made billions of State quarters, and, with perseverance, they can be found.
First Reports
We received no new reports this week.
Circulation Reports
Shannon Richardson reported Jan. 18 that a co-worker was the source of her 2004-D Wisconsin quarter.
