1996 P and 1982 D copper colored quarters - Someone please help :)

Hello there,I work at a gas station and it is crazy what some people use to pay for beer or cigarettes with. Just the other night someone paid me all in change which included two Mercury dimes! My question is about these two quarters I found tonight in my drawer.The 1996 quarter has a mint mark of P it is a dark copper color in decent condition, when the light hits it just right you can see a bluish shimmer, kind of like a puddle of water with a trace of oil in it.The 1983 quarter has a mint mark of D and has more of a bronze color than copper. Not sure if these are rare, or worth anything. I don't collect coins for the value in it, or hope that I will hit the jack pot, I just love finding old or rare coins. It's like finding little pieces of treasure when I find something new.Thank you for your help!

 

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I don't think the 1982 is worth anything more than face due to the wear, though it does have an interesting color. The 1996 appears to be in quite good condition and has some nice blue toning (might be due to something like oil, I am not sure). I'd personally hold onto at least the 1996 because it looks neat and is in good condition.

 

Thank you, I will probably add them in with my other odd colored coins

 

This is probably a silly question but do you know how this happens? I have a dime that is the same color as the 1996 coin.

 

Definitely not silly. I ask similar questions all the time, as I'm relatively new as well. Toning is basically the metal in the coin tarnishing, corroding and/or reacting to chemicals in the environment.

I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject, but here is more info:

http://rg.ancients.info/guide/toning.html

 

Awesome! Thank you