State quarters are no longer minted and if you own one of the rarest, it could be worth a substantial amount, here we reveal the rarest and most valuable.

State quarters were minted from the year 1999 to 2008, as their name implies these were quarters minted for each and every US state.

Even today, many of these state quarters are still in circulation, but in reality most are not really worth much, yet some of the rarer designs are.

So which state quarters are valuable?

Valuable State Quarters

All state quarters, minted in all 50 states featured the George Washington design on one side and a unique state design on the reverse.

Every year, these state coins were released into groups of five and although those looking for valuable coins may also be interested in coins for their own states, in reality this has no relation to their value.

In fact, like any valuable type of coin, the coins worth most are those with a particular type of error, design, symbol or lettering.

Once you are familiar with these characteristics it will become much easier to spot valuable coins in your everyday life.

Like anything of value, wear and tear also matters with less worm state quarters being more valuable than those displaying considerable wear.

Most Valuable State Quarters Ranking Order

So, which state quarters are the most valuable

We consulted the experts at My Coin Collectors Ebay Store to find out more and they provided the following insights based on their experience in the field:

1. Delware State Quarter (Most Valuable Coin)

The Delware state quarter is probably the most valuable state quarter ever minted and is worth between an estimated $600 and $900.

The major reason this coin is worth so much compared to the others in the list is that it’s referred to as “proof grade”.

That means it was minted purely for collectors and so the numbers are much lower.

The coins design features the words “The First State” and “Caesar Rodney,” who was one of the United States founding fathers. 

Other notable features of the Delware State Quarter also include:

• S mintmark, which stands for San Francisco.
• The coin has a grade of 70 (the highest score in the Professional Coin Grading Services’ scale).

2. 2000 New Hampshire State Quarter

Another key differentiator of what distinguishes rare coins are errors that occur during the minting process.

This particular coin is part of the Washington state series and was minted between 1999 to 2008. 

This particular coin is worth so much and is valuable due to a specific minting error referred to as the planchet mint error, which is also known as a double denomination. 

3. 2004 Wisconsin State Quarter

The Wisconsin state quarter features the cow next to a leaf of corn and a round of cheese. 

Valuable Wisconsin state quarters have variations or errors to this common theme.

For example, if there is an extra leaf on the coin, this is a key sign its a rare find and potentially of value and it’s position on the coin is also important.

For instance, coin experts at the website CoinTrackers, state that the extra high leaf variety of the Wisconsin quarter is worth as much as $300.

While a coin with the extra low leaf is worth around $250.

4. 2008 Alaska State Quarter

If you have ever lived or worked in Alaska, it’s time to start searching behind those sofas!

The 2008 Alaska State Quarter is one of the most valuable and the best part is that the minting error is easily identified.

In this case a large chunk of the coin is missing, which is a result of an end of sheet straight clip error.

One thing to note is that these types of errors can result in a coin in a variety of different shapes as the clipping error itself is variable.

These type of minting error is not the same as a clipping error or a broken coin, so that is also worth remembering.

5. 1999 Georgia State Quarter

The 1999 Georgia State Quarter is still incredibly popular among coin collectors and hobbyists.

The state quarter above features a clipped planchet error. This occurs when a blanking die overlaps a previously punched hole in a coin metal strip.

The result is a coin with a “concave” error.

As always when identifying any coin of value, it’s important to understand the minting error you are dealing with and according to Error-ref.com, a clipped planchet error has the following features:

• The pole opposite the clip often shows a weak or absent rim. This is the “Blakesley” effect.

Please note however: The “Blakesley” effect is not always observed on coins with authentic curved clips which are larger.

• Design elements bordering the clip often show metal flow – which makes the coin appear distorted and “stretched”.
• The rim should fade out and taper toward the clip.
• Reversal of position of exposed copper core. 
• There will typically be a “belly line” or “breakaway zone” on the exposed edge.