1977 No Mint Mark Quarter: Value, Silver and Errors

A 1977 quarter with no mint mark is a normal coin from the Philadelphia Mint and is worth its face value, 25 cents, in circulated condition. Only uncirculated coins bring more: USA CoinBook lists $7.29 in MS65, and Coin-Identifier gives $2 to $4 in MS63 and $12 to $25 in MS65 (2026 figures it attributes to the PCGS and NGC guides). Quarters in MS66 and above are scarce; Coin-Identifier quotes PCGS CoinFacts that MS67 is very difficult to find, and reports a PCGS MS67+ sold for $2,550 on eBay on April 10, 2021.

So a coin from change is worth 25 cents. It is worth a second look only if it has no wear at all, or if it shows one of the errors listed below.

Before 1980 the Philadelphia Mint did not put a mark on its coins; the P mint mark was first used on quarters in 1980 (Wikipedia, Washington quarter). A 1977 quarter without a letter therefore came from Philadelphia, or from West Point, which struck quarters from 1977 to 1979 without any mint mark. Those West Point coins cannot be told apart from Philadelphia ones.

The mint mark on quarters from 1968 onward is on the front, at the lower right to the right of Washington's neck (Wikipedia). A D there means Denver. An S appears only on proof coins made for collectors.

No. U.S. quarters stopped using silver in 1965 and have since been made of copper-nickel layers on a pure copper core (Wikipedia). A silver quarter from 1932 to 1964 weighs 6.25 g and is 90% silver, while a clad 1977 quarter weighs 5.67 g, so a scale settles the question. On a clad quarter the copper core also shows as a reddish stripe on the edge.

The only 1977 quarters with silver are rare errors: CoinValueChecker reports a few 1977-D quarters struck on leftover 40% silver planchets from the Bicentennial program, valued at $1,000 to $5,000 or more.

Values reported by CoinValueChecker and Coin-Identifier (2026), for authenticated coins:

• Struck on a 40% silver planchet (1977-D): $1,000 to $5,000 or more.
• Struck on a cent planchet: $800 to $1,500 or more (a small, copper-colored quarter).
• Missing clad layer on one side: $75 to $1,000 or more; the face looks copper-colored.
• Doubled die obverse: $50 to several hundred dollars depending on strength.
• Off-center strike: $50 to $100 at 5–10% off center, $75 to $250 at 15–40%.
• Clipped planchet: $50 to $250.
• Broad strike: $30 to $150.

Most claimed errors are damage: a quarter that looks copper-colored all over may have been plated or chemically treated after it left the Mint, and a thin coin may have been worn down. Weigh it: a real cent-planchet error is much lighter than 5.67 g, and a missing-clad error is slightly lighter.

• 1932 to 1964 (Philadelphia): 90% silver, 6.25 g. These are always worth more than face value because of their silver.
• 1965 to 1967 (all mints): no mint marks were used at all, from any mint; they are clad and common.
• 1968 to 1979 (Philadelphia and West Point): clad and common, face value when worn.
• 1976: the Bicentennial drummer design, dated 1776–1976. Almost two billion were struck; Congress required 45 million Bicentennial coins in 40% silver, and those were a special subset, not the circulating quarters (Wikipedia). There are no 1975-dated quarters.
• 1980 onward: Philadelphia quarters carry a P, so a later quarter with no letter at all deserves a closer look.

For a Lincoln cent from the same year, see the 1977 penny page.

Research and drafting for this page were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed below. Prices are copied from the named price guide or auction report with its date; where a figure could not be confirmed we say so rather than estimate. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.