1996 Smooth Edge Quarter???

Wisconsin

I found this in pocket change today. Is this a mint error of some sort? The edge is completely smooth.

airplanenut

I almost wonder how that could happen, as I thought the collor put the reeding on- is there any hint of a post-mint alteration of sorts?

Jeremy

66Tbird

It's been to Vegas:

Wisconsin

It is absolutely smooth with no evidence of anyone tampering with it. It is the exact size as other quarters with the reeded edge. Has anyone seen anyhting like this? any value as a mint error?

Jay

Trooper

I always thought they were dryer quarters. Left in the pants pockes and going around and around wore the edges off.
Tom

lathmach

Three possibilities.
1. Struck out of collar.
2. Someone with a file, time, and not much sense has removed the reeding.
3. Counterfeit.

Ray

cladking

Looks like it was filed. The copper core is generally smeared toward the obverse
or the reverse as the planchet is sheared out of the clad strip. In order for the cladding
to appear on both sides of the core it would seem that the coin had to be filed.

richbeat

I've seen a number of recent date halves with the reeding worn/filed/etc. off. Could the repeated use in some kind of machine (slot machines) cause that?

coppercoins

That's exactly what it is - that quarter spent a good deal of time in slot machines - Vegas, Tunica, and wherever else they don't make you use tokens in the machines. There is no tampering, the coin is not fake. I have seen many of these.

Baley

any value as a mint error?

whenever someone asks this, I ask them,
"do you want to buy another one? if not, good luck selling that one!"

lordmarcovan

I've seen some with darn near smooth edges, be it from slot machines or spinning in dryers or what have you, but none of the ones I have seen were totally smooth- there was always a faint little ghost of the reeding showing somewhere.

coppercoins

The answer to the "any value as an error" question is this...many more times than not, if the coin will fit into a roll with other coins like it, its value will be very minimal. If it won't fit into a roll, it's value will be more. This is a general rule of thumb and not a hard and fast. The reason for it is that if the coin could have easily escaped normal mint channels, they usually do, thus there are plenty of them out there.