A QUARTER from 90 years ago could be worth a few thousand dollars if you know what details to look for.
It's no secret that rare coins can go for a lot of money depending on certain errors, controversies, or other specifications.
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According to a recently closed auction for a quarter from the 1930s on eBay, you might have a coin worth a few thousand dollars lying in your spare change.
The coin is specifically a 1932-D Washington Quarter PCGS MS 64.
The 'PCGS' stands for Professional Coin Grading Service, which verifies the quality of any given coin in question, per PCGS.com.
'MS' refers to Mint State, which is a grading system for coins struck in circulation that starts at 60 and goes as high as 70, according to NGC Coin.
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The winning bid
The quarter sold at auction after a staggering total of 40 bids.
The selling price started at a base of $1 and quickly rose to $305 at the end of the first day.
By the end of the third day of bidding, it sat at $1,778.
A week later, it sold for $2,299.00.
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Based on the coin's rating and the history of the 1932 Washington quarter, the end price makes sense.
As The U.S. Sun previously reported, the 'D' notation also makes the quarter valuable.
This means that it was minted in Denver, rather than 'S' coins, which were minted in San Francisco.
However, the 1932 'D' quarter is most notable and priceless because it was the first set of quarters to begin minting with former United States President George Washington as the face of the coin.
There are more than six million examples minted with that date.
Denver produced the least amount of the 1932 'D' quarter compared to San Francisco and the Philadelphia mint.
The latter produced 5.4million of those coins, while the Denver and San Francisco mints each made less than 500,000.
Other 1932 'D' Washington quarters have sold in the hundreds, including one sale The U.S. Sun reported on that ended at $622 and another that sold for $467.
For this specific sale, it went for over $2,000 most likely due to the coin's quality and the fact that it is uncirculated.
Uncirculated versus circulated
A rating of MS 64 out of 70 is high, which means the coin is in close to near-perfect condition.
Being uncirculated is incredibly rare, as that means this specific 1932 'D' Washington quarter has never been in the larger coin circulation across the United States.
There are also two specific ways that the PCGS determined this, according Gov Mint.
First, the coin should have a 'mint luster' or shine to it that would normally wear off after being in circulation.
Second, there should be virtually no wear on the coin's higher points, as this wear is common after any coin is in circulation.
If you find one that's circulated, that's alright too.
1932 'D' and 'S' quarters in average condition are often worth a few hundred dollars, according to the USA Coin Book.
Other valuable coins and how to look for them
There are also other quarters from the same decade that go for decent prices.
For example, the 1936-D coin is said to be worth $25 on average but can go for at least $1,228 if it sits at an MS 65 grade or higher.
However, it also pays to look out for other pennies, nickels, dimes, and even half-dollars that could be worth serious cash.
First and foremost, you should check and go through any places you store spare change while having something like the USA Coin Book at your hip.
You could then search for any coin that you think might be worth some value on eBay by searching its full name.
It's also important to be aware of potential fakes when buying online.
Make sure to check the seller’s history and whether or not the coin was officially certified in the posting.
For more related content on rare coins that you might have lying around, check out The U.S. Sun's coverage on the most valuable coins still in circulation that could be worth over $13,000.
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Additionally, The U.S. Sun has the story on the top 10 most valuable pennies worth up to a jaw-dropping $2.6 million.
