Hogs pre 64 Washingtons
Private
Updated:
3/17/2024
Views: 1,902
First I will share some cool facts then I will share the reason I decided to collect silver quarters. Im only going to talk about 1932 thru 1964 only in this report. One of these days I may decide to collect clad but it will be later on so I will not discuss no history beyond the silver years. I hope someone will get some good out of this and maybe decide to share some of the same love for Washington quarters that I do.
As most collectors know the quarter that features George Washington´s bust was designed by John Flanagan. Flanagan had a tremendous talent for sculpting. He was so talented he served as an assistant to the amazing Augustus St. Gaudens who designed the legendary St. Gaudens double eagle. This helped Flanagan get reconized at the US Mint. Flanagan also sculpted other works of art besides coins. He also sculpted the famous Rotunda Clock in 1896 that resides in the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington DC.
Flanagans design was almost not chosen for the famous Washington bust quarter we have all packed around in our pocket change for so many years. His design was protested by The Fine Arts Comission to use Laura Frashers design. She was the actual winner of the contest that was held to replace the design of the Walking Liberty half dollar. On December 1924 congress was planning ahead for a coin to commerate George Washington´s 200th birthday anniversary in 1932. The contest rules allowed the competitors to design the reverse any way they wanted except the reverse had to be based on the bust of George Washington that Jean-Antione Houdon had created. Out of over 100 entries in the contest Laura Frasherś was chosen as the lucky winner. Or not so lucky she was soon to find out later. It was supposed to be struck on the half dollar but due the The Great Depression no halves were being struck when the time was nearing closer for the design change. In 1931 new legislation was passed to change the design on the quarter to take effect in 1932. Since no halves were being struck in 1932 the decision was made to use Washingtonś bust on the quarter instead. Frasherś design was recommended to be used on the quarter but, the Secutary of Treasury, Andrew W. Mellon, chose Flanaganś design himself. I could only imagine the heart break that Frasher felt. She probably felt like she had been cheated out of this amazing oppurtunity. The Fine Arts Commission tried to protest Mellonś decision in January 1932 with no luck. Andrew Mellonś argument was the Treasury had no part of her design in approval. Mellon ended up leaving office on February 12, 1932, being replaced by Ogden Mills. Unfortunately for Frasher, Mills decided not to overrule Andrew Mellonś choice of using Flanaganś design besides the fact of strongly favoring Frasherś. On April 16 it was publicly announced, John Flanaganś Washington bust design was officially going to be used on the quarter dollar.
If not for Mellon, the quarters we all use in everyday life would look completely different. I personally like Flanagan´s design much better than Frasher´s. Its by far my favorite coin to collect. I cant help but to feel sympathy for Frasher, even though Im not a fan of her design. That would make me feel cheated also. There was talk of Mellon being sexist and didnt want a womans design on the new quarters. Back in those days women didnt get treated as equally as men.
Flanaganś quarter was struck in 90% silver and 10% copper from 1932 to 1964. Clad in the following years but Im not going to get into that since this registry set only includes the silver issues. They have a diameter of 24.26mm and weigh 6.25 grams.
Now a little about how I made a decision to collect quarters and enter them in this registry set. Ive only been collecting for around three years now. When I first started I was all over the place collecting different type coins and most of them raw. I finally joined NGC and joined the forum where I met a great bunch of friends. I always heard them talking about the registry and putting together sets. I thought about it for a while and couldnt decide on what I wanted to focus on. I needed to find something I liked that fit my budget. Then the West Point quarters started being released. I instantly was attracted to them. I put together a couple sets of them and it was really fun. Then a good friend of mine I met on the forum had a talk with me. He told me some things he has learned over his many years of collecting and has helped me in many other ways. I was mostly collecting modern bullion and very recent releases. He advised thats its fine to collect the newly released coins but its nice to have a little diversity in the collection and go after coins a little bit older also. After thinking about what he said I decided to try and put together a set of silver Washington quarters. After looking at several older quarters I seen they can tone some very beautiful colors over the years and fell in love with them. I took it upon myself to make my friend a promise that I was gonna complete a set of them. It is gonna take me a while to do so but I owe all the enjoyment of putting this set together to Zadok. I owe him many thanks and wanted to mention him on here for those who know him. He is a wonderful person and Im happy to have him as a friend on here. I also look at him as a mentor. He has inspired me to do more research and grow in the hobby.
Working on this set has been a major learning experience for me. There are a few coins I need to replace. Some that Im not really happy with that I bought when I first started. My good friend I mentioned earlier has taught me to have patience and find the right coins. At first I wanted to hurry and throw the set together and now I have some regrets. I learned not to just buy by grades only. I now look the coins over really good and make sure they are worthy of putting in this set. I have since added some very beautiful quarters. As you look you will see some that are not so great and some true beauties. Its gonna take me some time but eventually the ones I regret will be replaced.
My goal on this set is just to complete it with some coins I will be happy with. Ive got a very small budget to work with. There is no way I will ever make it to the top places. I will probably never make it to the top 20. I just dont have the money to buy the serious coins needed to do so. I dont really care if I dont place high on the list. Im still very proud of my collection and Im very grateful for the coins I do have. But I have been putting back a few dollars here and there when I can until I save up enough and get one I really want. Ive found most of my favorite ones in auctions such as Great Collections. I try to get them in the highest grade I can afford that has very nice eye appeal. I will have to make some exceptions though when it comes to the key dates. I will have to settle for some lower grades. I never knew what a challenge I was getting into until I got a few months in. There are 85 quarters needed to complete the set. Ive still got a long ways to go.
To come to a conclusion Im no longer trying to work my way towards the top spots. Reality kicked in after a few months and I seen I just dont have the budget for the serious coins needed. Im still having a great time and have learned so many things while working on this set. Also there are some amazing sets in this category. Ive looked at several and there are some amazing quarters in several of them. I would like to thank everyone who added photos for everyone to enjoy. I know I enjoyed looking at them all. It made me want to display photos of mine. I tried to get good pictures but I never could get the lighting right. Hope they are good enough until I can get them done professionally one of these days. I will wrap this up by saying its been an honor to display my set along with all the other wonderful set owners in this category. There are some truly amazing coins throughout everyones sets. Also thank you to everyone who took the time to read this and look at my coins I currently have. Thank you to our host (NGC) also for having a registry for for everyone to enjoy. Hopefully this may help someone who is thinking about starting a set of silver Washingtons who is learning like me.
Read more...
Hogs pre 64 Washingtons
By Hoghead515
Owner Comments:
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
The NGC Registry is not endorsed by or associated with PCGS or CAC. PCGS is a registered trademark of Collectors Universe, Inc. CAC is a trademark of Certified Acceptance Corporation.
Add Coin
Join NGC for free to add coins, track your collection and participate in the NGC Registry. Learn more >
Join NGC
Already a member? Sign In
The NGC Registry is not endorsed by or associated with PCGS or CAC. PCGS is a registered trademark of Collectors Universe, Inc. CAC is a trademark of Certified Acceptance Corporation.
There is never any charge to contact us. To reach a customer service representative, call, text or WhatsApp (+1) 855-472-3310 or use this form.
