What do think about this cancelled/defaced die?
sparky64
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This was an impulse buy for me today at a small local show. I do collect Washington Quarters so it fits that theme nicely. I had to go with my gut as I could not quickly find any recent sales of something similar.
Most of these I see are completely obliterated. I assume something can be gleaned from the serial number?
As you can see it's a 1968-S which makes it a proof die. You also partially see the RTY in in LIBERTY as well as the hair queue and lower portion of the bust.
I am aware of the 'X' on modern gold commemorative dies and 19th century dies but is it common to have this much detail intact on this type of older die?
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Comments
I'm curious as to how common was die cancellation by torch, at the US mint? Seems haphazard to me, compared to a nice big X by grinder, chisel or similar.
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Very unusual to have that much detail. @FredWeinberg might be able to say how unusual.
Nice pickup, not very knowledgeable on this topic though.
Type collector, mainly into Seated. Young Numismatist. Good BST transactions with: mirabela, OKCC, MICHAELDIXON
It’s one of the few quarter dies from that era that has the full date – it also has more than average detail showing from some of these “torched” dies – nice addition to your collection
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
Nice having some details left on a used die but it is in no shape to be stamping "Error" coins -
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
exceptional example. Most of these dies with “puddled” or “torched” cancellations don’t have that much detail. 1968 is the most common year for these dies. The bottom for your die should have some file markings on it, since it looks like this die was actually used, based on the sides of the die.
From what i’ve heard, the “S” in the serial number indicates that it is from a San Francisco coin. And the “P” means that it is a proof.
Never seen one of these with that much detail and.or a full date and mint mark. Perhaps this was one of the first ones cancelled and they had not yet set standards for how much damage had to be done to it. Nice find!
Nice example.
As I recall the story, the 1968S dies were sold for scrap (perhaps others were, as well) and they were recovered by someone at the scrap yard. Some had a little detail remaining and a few were like yours with lots of detail.
There was a pretty large number of canceled 1968-S Proof coin dies that got into collectors’ hands. Many of them were melted to nothing, but a few, like this one have quite a bit of detail. I have a pair of nickel dies and the collar. The obverse die shows “68” in the date and the mint mark.
This quarter die has my die beat. It was quite a find. Congratulations!
Northeast Numismatics had a large hoard of these dies. I sold quite a few of them when I was a dealer.
Really cool! Never saw one with that much detail.
It would be wild to see a coin struck wit this die..
I have seen counterfeit errors made by taking a normal coin and pressing the unmutilated part of a Proof die into it. You can always tell.
It could be, if used to apply a second strike (80% or more off-center) on a genuine 1968-S quarter.
There is a similar torched nickel die out there that was utilized to apply false secondary off-center strikes on 1968-era nickels.
One way to identify these is that the maker did not have a corresponding reverse die to use.
Interesting acquisition.... If I saw one at a show, I probably would buy it....Cheers, RickO
Very neat pickup. First one I've seen with that much detail too.
Young Numismatist/collector
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In the few days since, I've learned quite a bit more about these.
I see that these 1968 S torched dies are fairly common and it does appear that this much detail is not common.
Looking back I see many posts and stories about @FredWeinberg and his exploits obtaining, storing, etc. right up to NGC offering to certify them.
I also saw a great, intact Lincoln token die owned by @BillJones
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Here is a letter in my collection on the subject.
@MWallace Outstanding letter.
Thank you for showing that.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
There is at least one die known not to have received any canceling. Oops!
Here is a 1968-S Proof nickel die.