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Questions about a different looking 1976 bicentennial Quarter

BillF7796BillF7796 Posts: 11 ✭
in Q & A Forum

Hi everyone, I've had this quarter sitting on my desk for over a year now and I've wanted to post it to ask some questions about the obverse design. I found this coin in a roll that also had a couple other 1976 quarters. I have maybe 20 1976 quarters and this coin seems to have a bust of Washington that looks quite a bit different. I'm wondering if it could be a different Obverse design?

The bust of Washington on this coin seems younger and leaner then other 1976 quarters. My other 1976 quarters have an older, heavier looking Washington. Also, the E in Liberty seems different. The bottom of the E is very straight and horizontal going towards the R on the younger looking Washington, on the older looking Washington the bottom of the E seems to bend toward the R. The E on this coin is very noticeable and really sticks out.

It's an interesting looking 1976 quarter and in pretty good shape. I looked on Variety Vista and there is only 1 Obverse design listed? Could this be a different Obverse design?

Thanks for taking a look!

Younger, leaner Washington compared to an older looking Washington.

The E is very centered and really stands out on this coin. Liberty on the other coins seems more blended together. The E doesn't really stand out on those coins.

The top picture is the different looking bust of Washington with an E that seems different. The bottom of the E is strong, straight and horizontal going towards the R. The other E seems to be weaker and bends towards the R.

Comments

  • Coins3675Coins3675 Posts: 592 ✭✭✭

    I don't see what is different about except it having more detail than the others.

  • lcutlerlcutler Posts: 657 ✭✭✭✭

    It could have been struck from new dies, plus it just doesn't have as much wear as the other one pictured.

  • GreenstangGreenstang Posts: 1,439 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Minor variations are bound to happen. The striking dies are struck from a master die, there could be a minor difference in them, dies wear out which can cause a minor difference. Coins being struck at high speed can cause minor differences. Also if you have to magnify the coin by more than 5X to see something it is irrelevant as TPG’s
    only use 5X when grading coins.

  • BillF7796BillF7796 Posts: 11 ✭
    edited August 30, 2025 6:16PM

    Thanks for taking a look! I did notice on variety vista that for many of the different Obverse designs IGWT seems to change. Here is a picture comparing IGWT. I forgot to post this image earlier. The top image is the younger looking Washington that I think might be a different obverse design. IGWT on that coin seems different from the other coin. For example, the "we" on the younger looking Washington seems different from the other coin. Especially the E. That coin is in good shape and I think it's die was a newer die and yet the E in IGWT is noticeably smaller and looks different then the E other coin. Some of the other lettering seems different also. I do agree that some minor variations will occur, but Washington's bust and some of the lettering seems different then my other 1976 coins.

    Thanks again for looking!

  • lcutlerlcutler Posts: 657 ✭✭✭✭

    Again, different dies, different die states, different striking pressure, different coin wear, almost every coin is going to have minor differences. Unless you find two uncirculated coins struck one after the other I don't think you could ever find two identical coins. Even then there might be different bag marks distorting features. All of these coins were struck from dies emanating from the same master hub with the identical design, there are no different designs. https://www.usmint.gov/learn/production-process/die-making?srsltid=AfmBOorUp6tGPmfssiPCpj3ZiIbMsWYlCL_Man7l7FoGklgaK_14E19r

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