1970-D Washington Quarter: "The George Canyon" A photographic study of a ragged fissure error
jtlee321
Posts: 2,365 ✭✭✭✭✭
So I visited my favorite B&M the other day. They've been in a dry spell for new material and I just could not leave empty handed. So I decided to take a look through the error coins he had on hand. I came across this 1970-D Washington Quarter that has a ragged fissure planchet error. I had seen it there for quite a while and never really paid much attention to it.
Well sometimes the coolest things can come home with you when you decide to open your eye's. I finally looked it over and noticed how worn the dies were that struck this ragged planchet. I fell in love with it. The quarter is in spectacular condition and it shows off the metal flow in spades. The ragged fissure is just amazing with a really nice peeled lamination of the cupro nickel layer off of George's head. The crack in the planchet travels over half way across the coin down George's neck on the obverse and up the Eagle's leg over it's shoulder and up it's neck on the reverse.
So I took it home to add to my collection as a great example of a mint error struck on really tired dies. The photo's below are really high resolution so you can zoom in and look it over. Enjoy. 
Some of you may have already seen this over on CoinTalk, but I thought I would share it with those of you over here that don't venture over there.
These next images were created using the focus stacking technique. The texture of the copper reminds me of cinder from a volcano.
Comments
Pretty dang cool images!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Those are super nice pictures of a super ruptured coin.
Pete
+1 and cool coin too!
Nice!
Second to last pic....lava flow, yes.
Amazing photography, thank you!
The thread delivers on its promise.
In those days ratty old dies were considered plenty good enough. You don't see many planchets like this though.
I have almost as much fun photographing these coins as I do finding them. I was pleasantly surprised to see just how worn these dies were. It was certainly a big factor that made me want to take it home. Obviously the fissure was the main aspect, but adding the die state was the cherry on top.
If you want a real visual treat, click on the 3rd image and then click on it again in the next window.
Looks like a satellite picture of the Dead Sea.
Awesome images - how many shots in the stacks?
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Very cool!
Love the coin and the pics!
I have a couple of Washington quarter errors and yours is a great one!
Thank you very much. They were as follows:
The 3rd image was a total of 20 images.
The 4th image was 160 images from front to back.
The 5th image was 100 images.
Wow. I keep telling myself I need to get more into coin photography but this is serious stuff!
I have a lamination error where the the clad surface is detached from the coin that would be very hard to see in a front on shot like a TrueView and may need something like this to do it justice.
It's not really all that difficult to do. The principals of photography are the same. You just need more time and patience in getting the number of images photographed. Software does nearly all the rest.
Cool error and great work on the pics.
"Some of you may have already seen this over on CoinTalk, but I thought..."
What's CoinTalk?
"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
Pretty amazing photo's of that error coin. I've never seen detail quite like that- thanks for sharing.
Those are incredible images..... amazing what can be done with image stacking.... Super interesting, thanks for all the work that went into this.... Cheers, RickO
Extraordinary presentation. And an extra die crack at the base of the bust just for good measure.
Very nice pics J. I just came across a somewhat similar quarter. Not a split planchet though. Might need to have you do a few pics of it like those.
I had a couple of coins that I wish I had done something like this before I moved them on. It's a really fun thing to do and not many people get to see anything like this. It's one of the reason's I've decided to start doing it and sharing it. It brings a whole different perspective on some error coins. It's almost like being turned into an ant and placed on the subject coin.
I would love to do a focus stack on your coin Chris. Just PM me and we can discuss it.
Now stereo imaging would be incredible!!! It's not out of the realm of possibility, it's simply a matter of more time to the process.
Oh I know, that's why I was saying it's just a matter of more time to the process. It can be done with just about any setup. Now if only I had a 3-D TV.
That's true, they are at the pawnshops for pretty cheap anymore. LOL
That'll buff out.
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
I'm a home theater geek. They have the technology already. It's still being perfected, but it's very close. I know that 3-D in the home has really died off, in fact there are only a few 3-D capable TV's being offered by the big manufacturers, none of them in UHD format though.
Here's one of those companies that have been working on the glasses free 3-D display technology.
ultra-d.com/technology/
I think an awful lot of collectors think the same way about all the heavy wear and damage moderns are getting in circulation. They just seem to think they can wait forever to collect these coins because it will all just "buff out".
Finding a nice AU 1984-D cent without spots and ugly surfaces is getting extremely difficult and no one notices. Nor do they notice the '84-P's in BU are almost all spotted and/ or have ugly surfaces.
I just the other day saw the first nice collectible '70 quarter for a long time in nice collectible condition in circulation but it was only a nice pleasing F condition. Most '70 quarters in mint sets are heavily hazed now.
And maybe a smidge of Bondo.
LOL... you mean patience not patients. Although you also need good patients as in photographic subjects too.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Yeah, thanks for the catch. Gotta love the auto correct on the iPhone sometimes. I have to fix it's "suggestions" all the time. Sometimes they slip on through though. Lol
That's a cool error and amazing photos!
My YouTube Channel
Very nice. Always enjoy seeing the error coinage posted here. Poor George, he sure has one "splitting" headache.