which quarters are mostly silver

[RiverFitz]

United States quarters minted in 1964 and earlier are the ones primarily composed of silver. These coins were struck from an alloy consisting of 90% silver and 10% copper. This composition was standard for circulating U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars for over 170 years.

Several different series of quarters fall into this 90% silver category. These include the Barber Quarters, which were minted from 1892 to 1916; the Standing Liberty Quarters, produced from 1916 to 1930; and the Washington Quarters minted between 1932 and 1964. Each of these quarters contains approximately 0.18084 troy ounces of pure silver.

The change in composition occurred with the passage of the Coinage Act of 1965. Due to the rising price of silver, the intrinsic metallic value of these coins began to exceed their face value, leading to hoarding. To address this, silver was removed from the composition of circulating quarters and dimes. Quarters minted from 1965 to the present day are made from a copper-nickel clad composition and do not contain silver.