Calling on the big guns!! PLEASE!! help me identify all the errors on this ‘94 Washington Quarter.
DieHardWithVengence
Posts: 70 ✭
So I am actually kinda proud of this find, as it does have a lot going on as far as errors go, and there are so many on this quarter, it’s impossible for me to tell what variety or type this is, let alone trying to figure out if it’s all post mint or at mint damage, though based on the clarity of some of these errors, my guess is that it could’ve only happened at the mint. I would appreciate as much detailed information as possible in your responses, so please explain how you come to your conclusions. I took a lot of pictures, but please look them over carefully as some of these errors do overlap one another.
Some things I thought were obvious I didn’t highlight on the pictures, but I will go back over and answer any questions with visual feedback.
I know, holy crap right? 😂😂😂 obviously I plan to have it graded, not for it’s condition, but more so for it’s authenticity. Any theories on what something like this would even ballpark for?
Comments
I think that actually might be a die clash
@tcollects, does that mean that 2 different die’s for different coins came together on the same punch? Or do you mean like one coin was stuck to the planchette when it was struck?
the dies hit (clashed) with nothing between them, then struck your coin with details of the front and back imparted on yours, before someone noticed or the dies broke, but let's hear what the real experts say
@tcollects, how common or uncommon of an occurrence would you say this is? And does this quarter have enough of the other coin clashed with it to figure out what other coin it was clashed with in your opinion?
The coin is a squeeze job, not a true error:
https://www.error-ref.com/squeeze-job-or-vice-job-or-garage-job/
The value is 25 cents.
@IkesT the only reason I would say I disagree with that assessment, is due the that letter “E” on the reverse side that’s on a leaf. It’s embossed, not imprinted.. I don’t think anyone has the tools to do something like that in their garage, but thanks for your feedback, I’ll wait to hear some more responses though..
I offer no opinion about the coin, but a die clash is where the obverse and the reverse hit without a planchet in between. This causes some elements of the obverse to be transferred to the reverse die or vice versa. Thus a clashed die would have elements of the exact same coin reversed and on the other side.
Thank you for clarifying that in further detail @daltex..👍🏻👍🏻
Sandwich job
Some of our coins have incused lettering (quarters) so a vice/squeeze job would result in raised letters for those design elements.
It is damaged, possibly intentionally.
For a die clash, the ghost image would have to line up with the opposite die. You have reversed images that don't correspond to die elements.
The embossed "E" looks like a dig that has raised metal on the edges. Pareidolia leads you to interpret it as a common shape.
It would help to have full coin images rather than all the redundant close ups.
Don't we see an incuse, reversed date '200-" on Washington? How would that happen on a 1994 coin at the MInt?
I see no errors, just damage.
Post Mint Damage (PMD)
Sorry no
for you
@JBK could you point me in the direction of what to look for specifically to see if I can find a match on that size and style of lettering? Also, I forgot to mention earlier that the little “A” after America is also a raised letter. So I’ll have the 2 different samples to look for..
@ifthevamzarockin i know you’re trying to be funny, but that’s a poor example of your character to make fun of someone else’s disappointment, not to mention to also make that assessment and to have come to a conclusion with no explanation of how you came to assume it.
@jmlanzaf ask and you shall receive..
The date on his forehead from what I can see close up reading from right to left is **07-2009. The 9 curls along with the eye lid..
Vise job damage on a circulated quarter. Time to study up on errors vs pmd. Good luck. Peace Roy
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Deja vu
Do you happen to have access to an electron microscope? I’d like to see this coin at 1,000,000x zoom before coming to any conclusions.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Post mint damage.... intentional compression and circulation damage. No numismatic premium... Cheers, RickO
Again, I think the "A" is simply pareidolia. It could be a die nick or just a coin nick. Is it all raised or just raised along the one edge.
In the full shot, you can see the circular line that corresponds to the edge of the other coin(s) that were pressed against this one. Whether an intentional vice squeeze or accidental is hard to say. However, there is no way that happened at the Mint.
Life after minting was not nice to this quarter.
Good luck in the hobby. Wild photography; I think graphic novel.
Easy on the “big guns” whose help you summoned plaintively.
The time you spent on your documentation is huge and the concentration you possess is a skill.
Let me parse this, no malice, I try to keep you ahead of my footsteps.
The folk who endeavor to answer you:
1) notice the number of posts (indicates one’s experience posting; not knowledge)
2) assumed you were young from your action-hero username (maybe, I did, though)
3) perused your profile to see they want to enter your turf (perhaps, I did, though)
4) recognized your effort to make a competent post
5) saw that it was a post about a potentially valuable error coin (deja vu)
6) saw the ample magnification
7) answered your question civilly.
Not a bad post, you hindered yourself a bit. No one will remember, but you.
Exasperation and anger before a crowd are comedy and oblivion does not erase chuckles.
Stick around, use your skills to post photos of pretty coins, they needn’t be rare.
Posting huge numbers of photos does nothing to help the value of this coin. It is a beat-up Washington quarter that is worth face value.
Having been around this forum off and on more than a decade.... you got the answer you sought from the experts you sought.
There is a steep learning curve.
The time investment can be enormous.
My tips to speed the process...
Quit buying crap from the banks.
Put more time into looking at mint sets and proof sets for the highest of high quality.
Find a major coin show with educational opportunities.
Cherrypickers guide and Ebay are your friend for pick up points.
Spend more on coin books than coins in the first year.
Send a few coins in each month for grading.
Riches in niches
Results...
When you reach the crossroads of knowledge and opportunity... You will find that banger $$$$
I once looked thru 70K auctions over six months to find six VAM's.... was it worth the net $5K?
I once picked up a few rolls of modern quarters and hit two top pop grades... was it worth the net $3K?
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@yspsales. First of all, I don’t buy crap from the bank, I own and operate a home renovation/construction business and what I have, I’ve found in walls, floors, and a few times under the house tucked away in keepsake boxes. In fact I’m looking at a silver 77 no mint mark Washington quarter right now. And while it’s pitted to hell, probably not worth more than a couple bucks max, to know that it was never supposed to have existed is still pretty cool to me. I collect for pleasure, not for gain. 👍🏻
I agree that this is a vise job (coins squeezed together in a vise). If you are new to coins, error collecting is a very rough place to start. The human brain is trained to solve puzzles, and as a result, you will see things that are not there. In order to train your eyes to overtake the brain, you will need to study. But I would start with the minting process in general. Understanding the minting process will allow you to understand how errors can occur (and how they cannot).
I know sites like YouTube make you think that you can get coins from the bank and make thousands of dollars a month finding errors. However, without the right training, you are in for a wild goose chase on a road paved with frustration. True errors are pretty rare, and errors that are actually worth significant premiums are very rare finds. If you are seeing errors daily, weekly or even monthly... chances are you don't have an error.
How can money be made in this hobby? By cherry picking rare varieties. You would be much better off in learning a series inside-and-out. Get some good books on the series you select, and look for unattributed coins. I think this is a great way to learn, and puts you on a path to set collecting, which is the backbone of numismatics. Varieties will still be tricky, but the markers are always in the same place on the coin... so, if you have the right resources in your lap.. you can learn as you go and still be successful.
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.
My first inclination was Michelin and then Craftsman. I don't see an error of any kind. But, I do see post mint damage (PMD). Keep looking for sure.
bob
Why do you believe the pictured quarter is silver? 90% silver or 40%? Did you weigh it? Does it weigh the same as a silver quarter? Did you get an XRF reading. Many coin shops, jewelers, and " we buy gold" places have handheld XRF units. What does the edge look like? If you can see the copper core, it ain't silver.
There are a number of simple ways to determine if your coin is silver or just a damaged quarter. Which one(s) did you use?
It’s damaged, as noted
You can see the impressed rims from the coin that was pressed into your coin,
On both sides…..
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
@DieHardWithVengence
While some of the answers you got might have been curt, you sought expert opinions and you got them. Just because you don't like the answers or the way they were presented does not make them wrong.
As far as your 1977 quarter, it is also post mint damage (PMD) and not unique. Philadelphia Mint quarters from 1977 do not have mint marks. There were over 400 million no mint mark quarters minted that year. It is also only worth face value.
Additionally, while this might be none of my business, I hope you own the houses you are renovating otherwise these "treasures" you are finding belong to the homeowner.
Philippians 4:4-7
@NeophyteNumismatist I’ve found a lot more hidden in the walls and floors of these 100+ year old houses than I can to admit, but just for sh*ts and giggles, here’s a small sample of what I found last week doing demo in my most recent purchase.
That little hockey puck looking ingot weighs just over 2lbs of silver, the old silver keepsake box with the deep red velvet lining, I just found out is from 1860’s England, and there is a plethora of 60’s & 70’s quarters I’m yet to go through still, but I did already find a few quarters completely missing their clad and that last little dark red rock, that’s an 87.27 carat pigeon blood natural Ruby from Burma, but I found it all in a cardboard box, in a basement in North Carolina.
I find currency stuff all the time, and I like to research it when I have time to, but I’m really just finding what others have collected over the years and keeping the things I like out of them..
I have a bad feeling...
What, like this member or thread might DieHardWithVengence?
Sorry, it was 3:00 am and I didn't feel like cooking up a batch of my famous sugar coating.
I declined to comment when I first saw the thread last night, and reluctantly posted after someone else got the ball rolling. I strongly suspected how this was going to go.
Finding a missing clad layer is a very rare occurrence. Finding multiple coins with missing clad layers? Or finding a coin that is missing both clad layers? Those odds are incredibly high. How did you determine they are missing Both clad layers? Did you weigh them?
Could they be environmentally damaged? The alloy used for the clad layer is actually 75% copper. Many clad coins that are ground finds turn a brown copper color due to chemical reactions. These are far more common than missing clad layer errors. Post some pics along with the weights on a new thread for feedback
If I found an 87 carat pigeon-blood Burmese ruby in a cardboard box, I wouldn't be asking people about beat up pocket change.
In 2015 a 26 carat pigeon-blood ruby sold at Sotheby's for $30 million........ so, best of luck to you.
I too looked that up as I was intrigued, saw that one for 30 million but that one is an attractive jewel with clarity. Natural raw pigeon blood rubies can be bought in the 100 carat range for around 20 dollars, theyre much more opaque and not jewelry grade
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Interesting.
If it's only worth 20 bucks, it seems quite silly to state its weight to a hundredth of a carat.
What does a gemologist say about the stone?
Would you let your plumbing contractor do your next colonoscopy?
My advice was more a roadmap, if numismatics is a serious hobby.
Junk is junk.
Tuition is not free despite what some may tell you.
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I feel dirty.
@DieHardWithVengence - I am not sure how to respond. Obviously, finding precious metals and gem stones in renovated homes presents an element of legal risk. One should do whatever possible to mitigate these risks and ensure proper ownership.
Keeping it numismatic - To understand if you have missing clad layers, you will have to weigh to coin. In many cases, I have seen clad coins that have discolored due to being exposed to the elements, and they pick-up a copper color. Copper coloring on a coin does not automatically mean that it is missing a clad layer.
I do agree with collecting for pleasure. The joy of collecting makes one want to study, and studying is free of charge (and truly pays dividends in the long term). Avid study is vital to success in this hobby.
My advice above remains... get into a series and learn all you can. So many newbies are out there looking for the impossible (1943 Bronze Cent, off metal coins, 1964 Peace Dollars, etc.). The chances are far greater of you winning the Powerball than finding one of these coins. Consistently showing the uber-rare or non-errors does two things:
Good luck and have fun, and please understand that I am trying to help and not throw rocks.
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.
It is very unfortunate that a thread such as this gets the dog pile reflecting what is obvious and what is truly special is ignored... so welcome to what represents what is beyond unfortunate
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
It looks to me that the silver trinket box is the real find here. If the OP posts photos of the hallmarks there are people here who can decipher them.
As for the pocket change inside the box, look for pre-1965 and spend the rest.
As for the bloody ruby, I know very little about stones but I imagine there's a reason it was found in raw form.
I’m not arguing with your feedback. I don’t know why everyone is getting so defensive all of a sudden??🤨
@NeophyteNumismatist i contacted the previous owners and asked if they would like to come back and pick up the items or if I should send them to their new address, to which they replied “we had no idea that was even there in the basement.” And to my knowledge, the occupants of the residence before them, has long been dead with no kin to settle his estate. That is why the county assumed ownership of the property back in 83 and then sold it to the couple I bought it from in 84. I’ve already talked to my lawyer, and the Chief of Police where I live regarding this issue, and both have said that I should hold onto it for the next 90 days, and if no one claims it between now and then, that I have the right to claim it. I don’t ever just take things improperly, I’m not a thief and my reputation is important to myself and my business dealings in this area.
@yspsales i made an appointment and took it to a very prominent dealer near where I live and he was surprised to see such a large natural “gem quality piece” such as this with the unique pinkish red hue it displayed when trying to pass light through it. He recommended that I have it properly certified before having it cut, and he also said that in his personal opinion, natural stones are better than treated stones, which I agree with.