(1964-65) Quarter Pattern - RB-3000, INCO

Coin Details

Description

Opening the RB-3xxx family of INCO experimental quarters, this test piece cataloged as RB-3000 represents the third and final major series of clad coinage compositions tested by the International Nickel Company during the silver crisis of the mid-1960s. The date range "(1964-65)" distinguishes this family from the strictly 1964-dated RB-1xxx and RB-2xxx groups, indicating that the RB-3xxx compositions were produced or tested during a period that spanned the transition from the old silver coinage to the new clad system. The Coinage Act of 1965, signed by President Johnson on July 23, 1965, authorized the copper-nickel clad composition for dimes and quarters, but the practical implementation of this decision required ongoing testing and refinement. The RB-3xxx compositions may represent INCO's final phase of development work, refining production parameters for the adopted or near-adopted formulation and exploring variations that might improve manufacturing efficiency at the massive scale required by the US Mint. Alternatively, this family tested fundamentally different alloy approaches that INCO considered as potential alternatives to the copper-nickel system. As the inaugural entry in the series, RB-3000 establishes the baseline composition from which the subsequent eight documented formulations in the family would diverge.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare experimental issue. Population estimated at 1-5 specimens. The RB-3xxx series is significantly smaller than the RB-2xxx family, with only nine documented compositions.

Cross References

RB-3000 (Reed-Brenner), NGC ID: 61907