There were enough to make searching worthwhile. Then people switched to half-dollars. I assume the supply is cleaned out now, though.
I did get a silver quarter in circulation maybe a decade ago, in change at a pop-up farmer's market stand. I recognized it immediately: it's a whiter, more satiny look.
Their sound is also subtly different that you can pick up if you pay attention. I used to swap silver quarters out of the till when I worked a cash register and I could tell without even looking that someone was about to hand me a silver quarter or dime.
I have a jar of quarters from throwing my change in it. No silver quarters, ever. And yah, I can spot a silver one immediately. The color and feel is different, and the edge of course is the dead giveaway.
I don't know what to tell you, the last 3 times I've changed a five at the car wash there's been at least 2 high silver count quarters in the pile, with a peak of 5.
Could be some elderly person in the area passed away, and a spouse/heir found all these hand-rolled quarters they'd saved in a desk drawer for decades, and didn't know they were saved because they were silver.
