Have you ever encountered an old quarter painted red or heard about it in an online forum? There are a couple of different ways these “house coins,” “bar quarters,” and “shills” were used by various business owners, mainly during the 50s and 60s. It’s impossible to say which theory is the truth, but these top three are discussed in most forums and articles on the subject.
Arcades
These quarters were an integral part of running arcade games back in the day. Whenever a kid had trouble getting an arcade game to accept their quarter, an attendant would stick a painted quarter in to try fixing it. When the quarters were later collected from each machine, the red-painted quarters were sorted out and distributed to the attendants for reuse. The red paint (or nail polish, more likely) didn’t do anything special to the arcade games; it just made it easier to keep track of them while sorting through the coins later. Some arcades used these to “fix” their games instead of giving their teenage employees keys to access the inner workings to fetch the customer’s stuck quarter. Arcades could also use these quarters for test plays of new games, free plays for themselves or customers as a courtesy, or extra plays as part of a loyalty program.
Jukeboxes
Back when bars and diners had jukeboxes, the owner would use a red-painted quarter to get the jukebox going before customers started arriving. When the music stopped, customers would keep it going with their own money. This way, the establishment owner didn’t have to count the painted quarter as earnings and encouraged their customers to spend more money. Generous owners would give their loyal customers the red quarters to use if business was slow or to be nice.
Free Laundry
Some apartment building owners gave their supervisors free laundry as a benefit. To do this, they gave their supers quarters painted red. When they collected the quarters from the machine, they would pull the red quarters and redistribute them to the supers. Laundromats would also use painted quarters to test machines or for employees to do free laundry.
Why Red?
Not all painted quarters will be red. In fact, some businesses will use blue or yellow instead. Red seems to be the most common because a teenager working there typically had a bottle of red fingernail polish on hand; due to its popularity in the 50s and 60s, it was easy to find. Another possible reason is that red stands out easily among silver.
Are Red Quarters Worth Anything?
No, a quarter with a bit of old paint or nail polish on it will not be worth more than a standard quarter. You’ll find some listings for these quarters for outrageous amounts, but unless you’re a diehard red quarter collector (which we’re not sure even exists), there’s no point in wasting your money.
However, if you have a quarter from before 1964, chances are your coin is made of 90% silver and is worth its silver content.
