Circulating rarities head to circulation: Quarters with the W Mint mark (2024)

Two million coins each of all five 2019-W America the Beautiful quarter dollars are being struck for release into general circulation for the public to locate in commerce. Two 2019-W coins are already heading to circulation in selected cities nationwide and should be in circulation in a month or so.

The first wave of the first two 2019-W quarter dollars, one commemorating Lowell National Historical Park and the other American Memorial Park, were being shipped April 1 to select cities in 29 states.The coins will likely begin to appear in circulation within four to six weeks, according to U.S. Mint officials.

The locations for many future shipments will likely follow a similar pattern as they are either locations with Federal Reserve Banks or sub-district banks or in close proximity to one.

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Examples of the first two quarter dollars were scheduled to continue being released throughout the month of April in designated cities. Some cities will receive more than one delivery of the West Point Mint strikes in mixed quantities.

T.V. Johnson, the director of the U.S. Mint Office of Corporate Communications, said April 1 that Treasury authority to produce the quarter dollars at the West Point Mint wasn’t received until after the Feb. 4 circulation release of the Lowell National Historical Park quarter dollars. The 2019-W Lowell National Historical Park quarter dollars are being mixed in along with the 2019-W American Memorial Park quarters, at both the Philadelphia and Denver Mints with circulation strikes from those two facilities.

Coin presses at the West Point Mint were adapted for use to produce circulation strikes. The West Point Mint is striking coins on Grabener presses with dies striking vertically, while the Denver and Philadelphia facilities strike the coins on Schuler presses with dies striking horizontally.

Johnson said the mixed bags are being filled by weight, so that the overall number of coins in each bag is the same. Output executed at either the Denver or Philadelphia Mints is being mixed with the added West Point Mint production.

The mixed bags are being shipped to the Federal Reserve’s contracted armored carriers, which currently handle distribution of circulating coinage.

The quarter dollars are the first struck at the West Point Mint to exhibit the facility’s W Mint mark. Circulating quarter dollars were struck at the facility from 1977 through 1979, but they are indistinguishable from Philadelphia Mint strikes since none have Mint marks.

The coins are being released in advance of the Great American Coin Hunt, set for April 21 to 27 by a coin dealer network, during National Coin Week.

The announcement of the W mint marked quarters coincides with the 227thanniversary of the United States Mint on April 2 and kicks off a program designed to spark a renewed interest in coin collecting. The release also ties in with the American Numismatic Association’s National Coin Week (April 21 through 27) and parallels the separate initiative that organizers have dubbed “the Great American Coin Hunt.”

“We want to encourage Americans to consider coin collecting by making the W mint mark quarters only available in general circulation,” said U.S. Mint Director David Ryder. “We’re fortunate to be able to feature the W mint mark quarters at the same time dealers around the nation are mounting a similar effort to celebrate and promote the hobby of numismatics.”

The U.S. Mint began the mixing March 26 at the Philadelphia Mint, where quantities of 2019-W Lowell National Historical Park and American Memorial Park quarter dollars were mixed into bags. The 2019-W quarter dollars were also randomly mixed into bags with D Mint mark quarter dollars at the Denver Mint.

The Mint expects to release West Point Mint strikes of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness into circulation close to the official circulation release by the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia Mint and Denver Mint output. The circulation release for War in the Pacific National Historical Park quarter dollars is June 3, for San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Aug. 26, and for the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness quarter dollar, Nov. 4.

The Lowell quarter dollars from Philadelphia and Denver Mint production first went into circulation Feb. 4. The American Memorial Park coins went into circulation April 1.

The April 1 coin destinations were:

For the remainder of April, destination locations are:

General commerce will be the only way collectors and the public will be able to obtain examples of the West Point Mint quarter dollar strikes, as theU.S. Mintwill not be offering these coins as a numismatic product in 40-coin rolls or any other quantity.

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