A circulated 1970 quarter is worth 25 cents as of October 2026. Every 1970 quarter is copper-nickel clad, and the coins that bring more are in top grades: a 1970 from Philadelphia in MS67 is about $264 by dealer guide, and a 1970-D about $11 in MS66. The 1970-D doubled die reverse (FS-801) has sold for $41 to $456 at Heritage and Stack's Bowers, and rare wrong-planchet proof errors have sold for $4,600 to $7,800.
Most people searching this have a coin from change or an old roll. That coin is a quarter. The three versions are the Philadelphia coin with no mint mark, the Denver coin marked D, and the San Francisco proof marked S that came only in proof sets. Telling them apart takes a few seconds, and one of the three rules out the mistake of thinking the coin is silver.
Quick answer
- Circulated 1970 or 1970-D quarter: 25 cents. Clad, no silver.
- Uncirculated 1970 (no mint mark): about $34 in MS66 and $264 in MS67 by dealer guide; the finest known MS67+ is listed near $2,160.
- Uncirculated 1970-D: about $11 in MS66 and $47 in MS67; the 1970-D doubled die reverse (FS-801) sold for $41 (MS64) to $288-456 (MS67).
- 1970-S proof: about $12-14 in PR68-69, up to $455 in PR69 deep cameo.
- Errors: 1970-S proofs struck on foreign planchets sold for $4,600 (Philippine) and $7,800 (Canadian); a $35,000 figure online is an appraisal, not a sale.
How do I identify a 1970 quarter, step by step?
Read the date, find the mint mark on the front, then check the edge and weight. The mint mark is the main thing that separates the three coins.
- Read the date. The date is on the front, at the bottom, under the bust of Washington. Check that it reads 1970.
- Find the mint mark. Since 1968 the mint mark has been on the obverse, to the right of the ribbon that ties Washington's hair, behind the neck. If there is a D there, the coin was struck in Denver. If there is nothing, it is a Philadelphia coin. If there is an S, it is a proof from San Francisco.
- Check the edge. A clad quarter shows a copper-colored stripe between two gray layers on the reeded edge. No 1970 quarter has a solid silver edge.
- Weigh it. All 1970 quarters weigh 5.67 grams. A kitchen scale reading to 0.1 gram is enough. A heavier or lighter reading is a sign of a wrong planchet, which is the error worth chasing.
- Look at the finish. An S coin with mirror-like fields and frosted design came from a proof set and has never been in circulation. A proof does not look like a normal quarter.
- Look for doubling and damage. With a loupe, scan the lettering and date for clear doubled outlines. Flat, shelf-like doubling is machine doubling and is not a variety.
- Judge wear. Look at the cheek and hair over Washington's ear and at the eagle's breast. If you see flat spots, the coin is circulated.
How many 1970 quarters were made?
The US Mint struck 136,420,000 quarters at Philadelphia, 417,341,364 at Denver and 2,632,810 proofs at San Francisco in 1970, according to the mintage table in Gainesville Coins' 1970 quarter guide. The Denver coin is the common one: three times as many as Philadelphia.
| Mint | Mark | Mintage | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | None | 136,420,000 | Circulation |
| Denver | D | 417,341,364 | Circulation |
| San Francisco | S | 2,632,810 | Proof only |
Fewer coins from Philadelphia is why the plain 1970 is the harder one in top grades, and why the MS67 prices differ so much between the two.
How much is a 1970 quarter worth?
A circulated 1970 quarter, with or without a D, is worth 25 cents. Values rise only in uncirculated and proof grades. The figures below are dealer-reported price points for 1970 as of October 2026, and top-grade sales are thin, so use them as guides.
| Coin | Grade | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 (no mint mark) | MS66 | About $34 |
| 1970 (no mint mark) | MS67 | About $264 |
| 1970 (no mint mark) | MS67+ | About $2,160, finest known (dealer guide) |
| 1970-D | MS66 | About $11 |
| 1970-D | MS67 | About $47 |
| 1970-D | MS68 | About $2,160, finest known (dealer guide) |
| 1970-S proof | PR68 or PR69 | About $12-14 |
| 1970-S proof cameo | PR69 CAM | About $34 |
| 1970-S proof deep cameo | PR68 DCAM | About $88 |
| 1970-S proof deep cameo | PR69 DCAM | About $455 |
Per Gainesville Coins, the 1970 Philadelphia quarter is about $34 in MS66 and $264 in MS67, with the finest known MS67+ listed at about $2,160; the guide gives no sale details for that figure. The same source lists the 1970-D at about $11 in MS66 and $47 in MS67. Lower uncirculated grades, MS60 to MS65, are worth roughly a dollar or a few dollars for either mint, since both are plentiful.
Condition and what it does to price
| Condition | What you see | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Worn, any grade | Flat cheek and hair, dull surface | 25 cents |
| About Uncirculated | Slight rub on the high points | 25 cents to about $1 |
| MS60 to MS65 | No wear, visible marks | Roughly $1-5 |
| MS66 | Few marks, strong luster | About $11 (D) to $34 (no mint mark) |
| MS67 | Very few marks | About $47 (D) to $264 (no mint mark) |
| MS68 and up | Nearly flawless | Hundreds to about $2,160 |
The jump at the top is the same story as with other clad quarters: they were bagged, counted and dropped, so unmarked coins are scarce. A quarter that has been in a jar for fifty years is much more likely to be MS64 than MS67.
What is a 1970-S proof quarter worth?
A typical 1970-S proof quarter in PR68 or PR69 sells for about $12-14, and a cameo about $16-34. Deep cameo is the exception: PR68 DCAM about $88 and PR69 DCAM about $455. All three come from the same proof set.
Proofs are made differently from circulation coins. The dies are polished and the planchets struck more than once, so the fields look like a mirror and the design stands out frosted. The 1970-S quarter came only in the 1970 proof set, with a mintage of 2,632,810, so every one was sold to collectors and most stayed untouched. That is why the common grades stay cheap and why the premium is for contrast: deep cameo means strong frosted devices against deep mirrors. Our proof sets worth anything guide covers sets as a whole.
If you have a 1970 proof set in its original packaging, the set is worth more together than the coins separately, so do not break it up before checking.
What 1970 quarter errors are worth money?
The errors that sell for real money are wrong-planchet strikes, where a quarter die struck a blank meant for another coin. These figures come from Gainesville Coins, which does not name auction houses for any entry and gives no grade or date for several, so verify against grading service records before relying on any of them.
| Error | Reported value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1970-S struck on a 1941 Canadian quarter | $35,000 (appraisal) | NGC PF65; an appraisal figure, not a sale |
| 1970-S on a George V Canadian quarter | $7,800 | NGC PF64; sold August 2020 |
| 1970-S on a Philippine 25 centavos | $4,600 | PR64; sold 2010 |
| 1970-D on a Lincoln cent planchet | $1,260 | Reported value; grade and date not given |
| 1970-D off-center double strike | $1,020 | MS64; 2021 sale |
| 1970-S double struck in the collar | $1,175 | Reported value; grade and date not given |
| 1970-D on a Jefferson nickel planchet | $216 | Reported value; grade and date not given |
| 1970-D "thin" quarter on dime stock | $30 to $350 | Worn to uncirculated |
The simplest check is weight. A quarter struck on a nickel blank weighs about 5.0 grams, a cent blank about 3.1 grams and a dime blank about 2.27 grams, all much less than 5.67 grams. The 1970-D doubled die reverse, FS-801, is a real and collectible variety, but figures of $1,540 to $2,640 that circulate online do not match the auction record. Greysheet lists PCGS examples selling for $41 in MS64 (2017), $61 to $180 in MS66 (2021-2024), $120 to $144 in MS66+ (2018) and $288 to $456 in MS67 (2019-2024), at Heritage and Stack's Bowers. Its retail guide shows about $100 in MS66 and $575 in MS67. Look for a clear second outline on the reverse lettering, then have PCGS or NGC attribute it.
An error is worth money only after a grading service has authenticated it. Our error coins worth money guide explains how to tell a real error from damage.
A worked example
Say you find a 1970 quarter in a roll from the bank and it has a D to the right of Washington's neck.
You look at the edge and see the copper stripe. You weigh it on a kitchen scale and it reads 5.7 grams, matching a modern quarter on the same scale. It is a 1970-D in clad. You tilt it under a lamp and see flat spots on the cheek and hair over the ear, so it is circulated. With a loupe you see no doubled lettering. It is worth 25 cents.
If the same coin had no wear, bright luster and almost no marks, even under the lamp, you would photograph it and show it to a dealer, and check the reverse lettering for the doubled die. A 1970-D in MS66 is worth about $11, so grading it would cost more than the coin. Only an MS67 or MS68, which would be about $47 and up, starts to justify the fee.
Common mistakes
- Thinking it is silver. No 1970 quarter has silver. Our silver quarters value guide covers 1964 and earlier.
- Missing the mint mark position. Since 1968 it is on the front. Looking on the back, as on older coins, will find nothing.
- Selling a proof by melt value. A 1970-S proof has no silver and no melt value, but it is a collector item at $12 or more, not 25 cents.
- Treating machine doubling as a variety. It is worth nothing.
- Cleaning the coin. It destroys the surface and the grade. See should you clean old coins.
- Trusting an unconfirmed error price. Large figures online are often appraisals, not sales.
How WorthPic reads 1970 quarter photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From your photos it reads the date, finds the mint mark to the right of the neck, recognizes a proof finish, looks at the edge for the copper stripe and judges wear on the cheek, hair and eagle. It gives an honest value range with a most likely figure, which for most 1970 quarters is 25 cents. It cannot know the weight, the exact grade or whether a coin has been cleaned from a picture alone, so it asks for a photo on a scale when a wrong planchet is possible. It identifies and estimates, but it does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The front, straight on, with the mint mark area and the date sharp.
- The back, filling the frame.
- The edge, tilted to a light to show a copper stripe.
- The coin on a digital scale, with the grams reading visible.
- Anything odd up close: doubled letters, an off-center design or a strange color.
When should I get a 1970 quarter looked at in person?
See a coin dealer if the coin weighs far from 5.67 grams, is clearly off center, looks like a different coin struck over, or appears completely unmarked. A dealer can tell you whether it is worth sending to PCGS or NGC. A proof in its original government packaging should be checked together with the set. For worn coins no expert is needed. To compare with the next years, see our 1972 quarter value guide, and for the full list of quarters to watch for see what quarters are worth money.
Sources
- Gainesville Coins, What's the Value of a 1970 Quarter?: mintages, dealer guide prices for 1970, 1970-D and 1970-S, and the error list, including the $35,000 appraisal.
- Greysheet, 1970-D doubled die reverse, FS-801: PCGS sale records from Heritage and Stack's Bowers and retail guide values.
- Greysheet, 1970-D doubled die obverse quarter catalog entry: the 417,341,364 Denver mintage, 5.67 g weight and the mint mark position right of the hair ribbon.
- Wikipedia, Washington quarter: the switch to clad coinage in 1965 and post-1967 mint marks on the lower right of the obverse.