1964 Quarter Pattern - P-5340, INCO

Coin Details

Description

An experimental clad quarter pattern cataloged by Andrew Pollock as P-5340, struck using 1964 Washington quarter dies on an INCO experimental alloy planchet. The quarter dollar occupied a critical middle ground in the silver replacement program — larger and heavier than the dime but smaller than the half dollar, it represented the denomination most heavily used in everyday commerce and in vending machines. The vending machine industry was a particularly vocal stakeholder in the coinage transition, as millions of machines across the country relied on the electromagnetic signature of 90% silver quarters to distinguish genuine coins from slugs. Any replacement alloy needed to replicate this electromagnetic profile closely enough to avoid the prohibitively expensive prospect of retooling every vending machine in the United States. INCO's engineers were well aware of this constraint, and compositions like P-5340 were specifically tested for their electromagnetic compatibility with existing coin-acceptance mechanisms. The Washington quarter's familiar obverse portrait by John Flanagan and its heraldic eagle reverse provided a well-understood baseline against which the striking quality of each experimental alloy could be judged. This Pollock-cataloged piece represents one of the specific alloy candidates evaluated for the denomination that would ultimately bear the greatest practical impact of the transition from silver to clad coinage.

Rarity Notes

R-7. INCO experimental quarter patterns are extremely rare. The quarter denomination's importance to the vending machine industry made these test pieces especially significant during the evaluation process.

Cross References

Pollock P-5340. Part of the INCO/Medallic Art Company experimental clad coinage program for the U.S. Treasury, 1964.