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State Quarter Errors
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Everyone goofs once in a while.
The U.S. Mint is no exception. The existence of a few State Quarter errors
is not hard to
imagine, especially when one takes into consideration the billions of them that are minted annually.
Hiccups in
the manufacturing machinery, compounded by the possibility of human mistakes,
explains the inevitability of at least some defective State Quarters.
The types of errors on State Quarters
range from minor to big-time screw-ups. There is a certain breed of coin
collector out there who relishes the challenge of plucking State Quarter errors from
circulation, and this section is devoted to these keen-eyed individuals.
You guys help keep our hobby lively. Here, we discuss the most common and best known types of
errors on State Quarters.
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Wisconsin
State Quarter "Error"
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Missing Design Features
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One Side
With Copper Color
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Larger
Than Normal Diameter
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Off-Centered Strike
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Blank
"Coins"
-- Die Cracks
-- Rotated Die Error
By no means is this an
exhaustive goof list, but it represents the most commonly talked about State
Quarter errors. Happy searching, and remember, keep that
magnifying lens
handy!
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Wisconsin
State Quarter "Error" |
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The Wisconsin State Quarter was released October
25, 2004. No one anticipated the excitement that was to follow a few
months later, when an extra "leaf" was discovered on a few of them. United States Mint image.. |
The presence of an extra cornstalk
leaf on the 2004-D Wisconsin State Quarter has jazzed both collectors and
non-collectors alike. When mass media headlines scream "Hidden Treasure in
Your Pocket Change?", small wonder that word of the Wisconsin State Quarter error
has made its way into everyday conversation.
Here's the lowdown: Wisconsin State Quarters were released amidst the
usual fanfare in October 2004. Toward the end of December, some
curious-looking Wisconsin State Quarters were discovered in Tucson, Arizona.
These quarters appeared to possess an extra "leaf" added to the ear of corn on
the Wisconsin reverse side design. Apparently, there are two varieties,
one with the "leaf" pointing down, and the other with the "leaf" pointing
upward. All of the "extra leaf" error quarters came from the Denver Mint.
News of the oddity traveled fast. Some collectors and dealers began
offering hundreds of dollars for a Wisconsin State Quarter error coin.
Stories appeared in television broadcasts and general circulation print media,
prompting even non-collectors to empty out their piggy banks for a second look.
Near the crescendo of the frenzy, certain individual coins were selling for as
high as $1500. After a few thousand of the coins were found, prices cooled
off, but still, a collector can expect to pay somewhere in the range of
$200-$375 on
eBay for an Uncirculated
Wisconsin State Quarter error coin.
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A regular Wisconsin
State Quarter does not include something resembling an additional cornstalk
leaf. United States Mint
image. |
A Wisconsin State Quarter bearing what appears
to be an extra leaf. This is the "Low Leaf" variety.
Image
courtesy of CoinPage. |
This is the "High Leaf" variety. Were these varieties the result of a
die cut mishap, or the work of a meddler? Image
courtesy of CoinPage. |
So what was the cause for this error coin? There was some controversy
associated with this question. Some experts believed the raised features
next to the ear of corn were the result of curved metal shavings becoming
accidentally lodged in the coin die, which eventually got pounded into the die
itself by the coin striking action, leaving a gouge in the die. As more
coins were struck by the same die, coin metal flowed into the gouged recess,
giving the coin an appearance of another leaf. Those who subscribe to this
theory also point out that these so-called leaves fall far short of proper
design definition, are awkwardly placed, and lack texture.
Other observers, equally knowledgeable of the coining process, speculated that
this was no mistake at all, that the extra leaves were added deliberately in an
unauthorized manner by someone inside the Denver Mint. The basis for this
theory is that it seems too coincidental that two random dies (i.e. one for each
"extra leaf" variety) independently acquired gouged recesses in just the right
spot to give the appearance of an added leaf. The odds of such an event
occurring on two different dies are astronomical, they argued, and are far more
likely attributed to the intentional efforts of an amateur engraver.
In the August 2007 issue of The Numismatist, the official publication of the
American Numismatic Association, collector Chris Pilliod, who is a metallurgist
by profession, published the results of a scientific investigation into the
cause of the extra leaves. The evidence he gathered, much of it through
scanning electron microscopy, led him to conclude the "error" was done
intentionally. The window of opportunity was the time between die hubbing
and final heat treat, when the die metal is soft enough that someone can alter
the design with a punch tool and hammer. High magnification revealed metal
flow evidence consistent with theory, while eliminating other possible causes.
We are still left to wonder why someone would do such a thing.
How many of the
"error" coins exist? An investigation revealed Denver Mint operators
noticed the Wisconsin defects early on and pulled the offending dies from
service. Based on the slight amount of wear on the dies at their
retirement, it is estimated that 20,000 of the Low Leaf and 15,000 of the High
Leaf varieties made it into a massive coin hopper, and were soon bundled into
rolls alongside standard Wisconsin quarters and escaped to the public.
Years from
now, will anyone be excited about owning a Wisconsin extra leaf variety?
Will collectors eagerly seek them out? Who knows, but one is reminded of a
couple of other mishaps at the Denver Mint long ago that to this very day cause
racing hearts and sweaty palms amongst numismatists: the 1922 "No D" Lincoln
Cent and the 1937-D three-legged Buffalo Nickel have both earned a high place in coin lore,
with impressive value increases over time to prove it. Perhaps a similar, lofty
status awaits the 2004-D Wisconsin "error" quarter.
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Missing Design Features |
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The lettering on this 2000 Maryland State Quarter lacks detail. A die
partially clogged with grease was most likely responsible for the miscue. Image
courtesy of CoinPage. |
This refers to a coin that is missing lettering, numeral, or a portion of the
design. It is easy to notice and is probably the most frequently
encountered State Quarter error.Generally, these errors result when
manufacturing grease or other debris is packed into the a recessed area of a
die. When the die strikes strike a
planchet, coin metal cannot flow into the
filled recessed area of the die, resulting in a coin lacking detail in the
effected area.
Most die-filled errors are common and do not add a premium value to the coin,
except is the most extreme of examples. Collectors should be wary of
anyone attempting to sell ordinary die filled error State Quarters for more than
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One Side With Copper Color |
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The reverse clad layer of this 2002 Mississippi
State Quarter is missing, resulting in the exposure of the inner copper core,
upon which the design was struck. Image
courtesy of CoinPage.
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One easily observed
State Quarter errors occurs when one side of the coin is copper colored.
This happens when one of the coin's outer layers is missing. Every
clad
coin, which includes State Quarters, is comprised of three layers of metal.
Both outer layers are made of an alloy consisting of 75 percent copper, 25
percent nickel. It is this alloy that gives clad coinage the silver-like
appearance. The center layer consists of pure copper.
Occasionally, one or both of the
outer layers separate from the copper core because of a failed bond between
layers. When one of the outer layers peels off, the copper core is
exposed, and it is this copper core that is struck by the die, thus imprinting
the coin design.
State Quarters missing a clad layer
are somewhat valuable. Collectors will pay anywhere from a few hundred
dollars to nearly $2000, depending on the statehood design and grade of the
coin. Collectors are especially eager to locate State Quarters with the
reverse side clad layer absent. At these prices, it may be worth your
trouble to
purchase State Quarter rolls.
Who knows, you might just get lucky!
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Larger Than Normal Diameter |
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Seldom does a coin having a larger
than normal diameter escape the Mint's
quality control net. This abnormality can be
caused by striking on an oversized planchet, but more frequently, it is
manifested through a collar die malfunction, resulting in something known as a
broadstrike.
The collar die is a circular-shaped
device surrounding the lower die. It serves two purposes: applies the
reeded or plain edge, and halts the metal of the planchet being struck from
flowing beyond the perimeter of the die. For some reason, if the collar
die is prevented from being in the correct position during the striking action,
the metal flow extrudes beyond the perimeter of the die, resulting in an
oversized, irregular shaped coin.
Broadstruck coins are tough to
find in circulation, since most of them are caught at the Mint. The more
obvious the error, the more valuable the coin. The malformed broadstrike
example shown at left is capable of bringing over $100.
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Off-Centered Strike |
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Pictured above: 2000 P South Carolina State
Quarter 25% Off-Centered Error. Image
courtesy of CoinPage.
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If a planchet does not fully align with the dies at the time of striking, the
result in an off-centered strike. Every off-centered coin is different: the
percent off-center and position of strike are the variables. Slightly
off-centered coins are relatively common error coins.
Off-centered coins with date and mint mark intact are more valuable than coins lacking
these.
Dated State Quarters with significant off-centered strikes, say 25% or more, can
be worth at least $100.
Extreme off-centered State Quarter errors (80-90%) can command as much as
$300 from hobbyists specializing in error coins.
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Blank "Coins" |
Picture yourself approaching a vending machine. Its a hot day, and you can
hardly wait to enjoy the sensation of a cold soft drink soothing your parched
throat. You reach for some pocket change and begin anticipating that
magical moment all the more. Now you start tallying the coins for the
requisite total...
10 cents... 20 cents... 25 cents... 50... huh, what the heck
is this? Aaaargh... you grimace in frustration, realizing that "quarter" isn't
really a quarter after all. It's nothing but a blank! You slink away
from the vending machine as
gracefully as possible, hoping to avoid eye contact with the amused onlooker chuckling at your predicament.If
something like this has ever happened to you, you're not alone. If the
Mint had to admit how many blank "coins" escaped their fortress walls, somebody might
loose their job.
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This clad quarter coinage has reached the planchet stage. The distinct rim
is evidence of this. For some reason, this planchet didn't make it to the
coining press.
Image courtesy of
Munroe Coins & Collectibles. |
So how did our hypothetical vending machine customer above get stuck with a
blank? Let's review the clad coining process. All clad coinage,
which includes State Quarters, start out as a coiled strip of tri-layered
material (outer layers are a 75% copper, 25% nickel alloy bonded to a pure
copper center layer). The thickness of the coiled material equals that of
the finished coin.
The coiled strip is unrolled and fed into a punch-out
blanking press. Round dies pierce through the strip, ejecting a round
blank with each penetration. Error specialists will pay more to acquire a
blank escaping into circulation at this stage of the manufacturing process.
After leaving the punch-out press, the blanks are processed through a machine
called the upset mill. The action of the upset mill squeezes the blank
near the periphery, causing a raised rim to form on the very edge. When
the rim is formed, the object is technically termed a planchet. Many
numismatists use the terms "blank" and "planchet" interchangeably, but in a very
strict sense, there is a difference. As we have already learned, this
distinction is crucial to the error coin collector.
There are numerous opportunities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
for a blank or planchet to elude even the most conscientious operator.
There are billions of coins struck every year, so its no surprise that thousands
of these goofs have sneaked out of the Mint on the Brinks truck.
Remember our frustrated soft-drink buyer? He needn't have gone away
thirsty. Most vending machines treat blanks at full face value, so he
could have quenched his thirst after all. On second thought, perhaps his
best choice would have been to put it
on eBay and get $5-10 for it.
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Die Cracks |
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The repeated pressure of striking coins can cause cracks in a coin die,
resulting in raised lines of metal appearing on the face of the coin.
Usually small, the raised lines are formed when coin planchet metal flows into the
open cracks at the time of striking. Die cracks are common State Quarter
errors. Because each statehood pattern is minted for a short period of
time (10 week average), less than normal attention is paid to the possibility of
die cracking, both at the design level (i.e. "coinability") and on the
manufacturing floor. Consequently, cracked State Quarter dies have been
known to produce many thousands of coins before they are retired.
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Under repeated stress, coin dies can easily
crack. As a coin is struck, coin metal flows into the die crack opening,
resulting in what appears as raised lines. Above are three examples of
lines created by a small crack in the coining die. Image courtesy of Mike Monteau.
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State Quarters with large, easily visible cracks carry more value than
quarters with less obvious cracking. Generally speaking, die cracks do not
add appreciably to the value of the coin.
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Rotated Die Error |
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Not long after the first State Quarters were released in 1999, a few of them
were classified as error coins due to a phenomenon known as rotated die error.
This discovery should not have surprised anyone, as many examples of this error
have occurred throughout U.S. coining history. So exactly what is a rotated
die error? Here is how you find out. Take a State Quarter (or any
other coin for that matter), and grasp it between your thumb and an opposing
finger at the 3 and 9 O'clock positions, with the obverse side (i.e. "Heads"
side) up. Make sure the coin is vertical, with George facing directly to
the left. Now, with your other hand, flip the coin over, but maintain your
hold on the coin. If the reverse design is right side up, everything is
normal. If it is angled or perhaps even upside down, someone goofed when
the obverse and reverse dies were set up in the coining press. The dies
are supposed to be oriented to achieve the normal look described in the test
above. If one of the dies is rotated, then the angled effect on the
reverse side appears, relative to the obverse.
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When an upright quarter is flipped over, the
reverse side should be upright too. If one of the dies was rotated prior
to striking, the reverse image will appear angled. The example above
illustrates the effect of a slightly rotated die. United States Mint
image. |
Rotated die errors are relatively common. The degree of rotation varies
from 5 to 180 degrees. Coins misaligned by 180 degrees are the most
valuable. State Quarters in top Uncirculated condition with 180 degree
rotated die errors are valued in the neighborhood of $50.00. Anything less
than 5 degrees is considered acceptable by Mint quality standards and is not
considered an error.
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