1964 Quarter Pattern - RB-2215, INCO

Coin Details

Description

Experimental clad quarter from the INCO testing program of 1964, assigned Reed-Brenner catalog number 2215. The International Nickel Company operated the most extensive private metallurgical research facility in North America at the time, and their involvement in the coinage crisis was driven by obvious commercial interest: whatever clad composition the government adopted would create massive new demand for nickel, INCO's primary product. This alignment of corporate interest and public need produced an unusually productive collaboration. INCO devoted significant laboratory resources to testing dozens of alloy combinations, with Medallic Art Company translating those laboratory formulations into actual coin-sized test strikes using borrowed Washington Quarter dies. The RB-2215 variant falls within the early portion of the RB-2xxx sequence, which explored compositions emphasize different ratios of copper to nickel in the cladding layers than the RB-1xxx family had tested. The physical characteristics of this piece — its weight, color, edge appearance, and response to electromagnetic detection — would have been meticulously measured and compared against reference samples of 90% silver quarters. These measurements fed directly into the recommendations that INCO provided to Treasury Secretary Dillon and Mint Director Eva Adams as they prepared the legislative framework for what would become the Coinage Act of 1965.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare experimental piece. Estimated population of 1-5 examples. The vast majority of INCO test strikes were melted after evaluation.

Cross References

RB-2215 (Reed-Brenner), NGC ID: 50347