Table of Contents
Introduction
How Much Does a Quarter Weigh This is a simple question that must have a simple answer: 5.670 grams. To some extent, this is the cut-and-dry answer. However, this only affects US quarters minted since 1965.
The United States of America minted a variety of different quarters over the years, so the weight can vary base on the quarters. However, the modern clad quarters weigh 5.670 grams of 0.2 ounces. Most of the silver quarters minted before 1965 weigh 6.25 grams or 0.22 ounces.
Clothed quarters
Each US quarter minted after 1964 is a plated coin weighing 5.670 grams. Essentially, these are your daily quarters found in your pocket change. They consist of 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel.
Silver Quarter
The more common silver quarters weigh 6.25 grams. Each silver quarter minted from 1873 to 1964 has the same weight of 6.25 grams. This includes all Washington silver quarters, Standing Liberty quarters and Barber quarters. These quarters are 90% silver and 10% copper. You’re unlikely to find them in circulation, but you can buy them as gold bullion or individually as collectable coins.
Early Silver Quarters
The rare, early silver quarters vary in weight depending on the series. Note that these older neighbourhoods are completely sold out and can only be purchased as collectable coins. So unless you’re a collector, you’ll probably never come across them.
Seated Liberty Quarter
The Seated Liberty Quarter was first minted in 1838 with a weight of 6.68 grams. The weight changed to 6.22 grams in 1853, and then in 1873 there was a small increase to 6.25 grams.
Cropped bust quarter
The Capped Bust Quarter was first minted in 1815 with a weight of 6.74 grams. For 1837 and 1838 the weight changed slightly to 6.7 grams.
Draped bust quarter
The quarters of the draped bust were minted from 1796 to 1807. These precious quarters each weigh 6.74 grams.
You may be wondering what factors play into weight aside from the obvious material content? Do different neighbourhoods have different weights based on their characteristics, their place of imprint, or maybe even the state they represent?
Metal Content
To explain why not all quarters in United States history weigh the current normal of 5.670 gm, it is important to consider the different metal compositions used to make quarters. Since 1965, quarters have been over 90% copper with the remainder being the outer layer of nickel.
Prior to this 1965 shift, American accommodations weighed 6.25 grams from 1873 to 1964. During this period, quarters were 90% silver and 10% copper. This salary ratio explains the greater weight compared to today’s coins.
Even before 1873, in the initial days of the being of the USA and its coinage, the weight of a quarter did not correspond to later years. The Coinage Act of 1792 stated that the quarter would weigh more than 12 grams and be made entirely of silver, a combination of 6.01 grams of pure silver and 6.74 grams of standard silver. This remained the answer to how much quarter coins weigh until the Coinage Act of 1873 came into force.
Are There Other Factors?
Although the value and denomination of various state quarters are not always the same, their weight is a normal American practice that remains unchanged and consistent with federal coinage standards. The state that a quarter represents, the design depicted on the various state or annual quarters, nor the official place of minting of the United States has any effect on which quarters weigh.
Quarter Weight vs. Other American Coins
Like to accommodations and their weight, extra American coins have had a similar history of weight shifts depending on their metal content and ratios. For the sake of current discussion, we’ll focus on what quarters currently weigh based on federal standards, and the same goes for our other common coins.
As one might guess, of the most common coins we all regularly find in our pocket change, the weight of a quarter is the heaviest. In fact, they are only surpassed by the circulating semi dollar, which weighs 11.340 gm, and the dollar currency, which weighs 8.1 gm.
More common coins are under a quarter’s weight because they are smaller and/or contain fewer heavy metals and apart from nickel are thinner in diameter. Currencies weigh 2,500 grams and made from a 75% copper and 25% nickel alloy. Nickels weigh 5,000 grams, the usual coin closest to a quarter weight, and have the same composition as pennies: 75% copper and 25% nickel. Finally, dimes, the brightest coin, weigh 2.268 grams and again made of copper and nickel.
Finally, and as expected, quarter coins weigh more than the other most common coins at 5.670 grams. Although the question itself is simple and the answer is easy to find, it is interesting to delve into the history of a quarter and its weight, what factors play into it, and where it falls below the weight of other coins.