Bi-centennial quarter error.

[slikrep]

I know that this is not a copper coin, so I apologize if I am addressing this in the wrong place. Is this coin worth anything? If you look closely at the picture, you can see the face , stars, and part of the e-pluribus unum in the damaged area of the coin. They are the same as what is normally on the back, so I would think this was done by the mint and not damaged after the fact. Would you agree? Thank you very much for your input.[img][/img]

[GarryN]

I am not an error expert and barely know what I am talking about, but my initial thought is, if this were a capped die or a feeding error where one coin hit part of another, the area in question would be perfectly rounded. Just my two cents worth. Many better heads here, no pun intended.

[eagames]

I'm not sure what went on with it.

It looks struck through grease on the obv or a weak strike or something (missing IN and 177 is weak) then it looks like brockage.

But the brockage area looks a bit strange so I'm not certain it wasn't post mint damage.

Showing the reverse would help determine what it is.

[slikrep]

Here is the picture of the reverse. I also outlined the face, stars and epluribus unum that are stamped in the void. The arc also fits a quarter. Is it possible that the backs are stamped first, and after this had the front stamped on it, it failed to eject, which stamped the back of the next one on the damaged portion of this one. Thanks again.
[img][/img]

[eagames]

Well I think if it's not post mint damage on a weakly struck coin it could be something like:

Another already struck coin landed partly on top of this blank when this one was being struck. You would see a brokage/mirror image of the other coin in that area.

I'm not sure on this one because the details in that area look like they don't match the coin..... I might be missing it but I see some letters and some stars maybe a face. On the rev of those there's the guys face and EPU and a circle of stars. But in that image it looks like the stars are randomly arranged not in the circle and the EPU seems in the wrong area. LOL!!! I might be missing something on the orientation.

Lets see what others think, I'm not sure on it.

[slikrep]

Respectfully, I do believe that they are the correct attributes of this coin. Remember, if it was stamped in that fashion it would be in reverse, which it is. Unfortunately, my photo taking skills are poor at best. But if you look to the right where I drew a circle the unum is clearly reversed as is the pluribus. Also, you can't see all of the stars, but enough of them to realize the pattern on the reverse right next to it. The placement of the face, the stars, and the text is correct. The surface area is not flat either, which distorts the view slightly. Additionally, I put 3 single marks in the face circle. The top one is the bill of his hat. The middle one is just right of his nose. The last one is just right of the purse of his lips. I tried to touch the pic a bit. Thanks again for your time.

[img][/img]

[GarryN]

I think it is a question for Mr. Diamond.

[coppercoins]

I have a limited field of knowledge in errors and how they occur, but I can say for sure that this is a genuine error. It's called an "indent" and happens when a coin is struck through another coin or blank planchet. That's about all I know other than to say that these are pretty scarce, and being that this one is on a special issue, I would imagine it would be more desirable thus worth more than if it were on another date. Sorry I cannot be of more help, but I simply don't study errors.

[slikrep]

I want to thank each of you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts on this coin. What an incredible resource this site is. My intention is to sell this on e-bay. Any idea or advice on what I might expect to get, or what would be a reasonable asking price ? Thank you again, very much.

[eagames]

This is about what I thought but still I can't explain the design in the indent because the star circle ends at the curved part of the indent. The rim is beyond that area, why wouldn't the rest of that area (stars to rim) be part of the indent? Is it possible that the indent coin was incomplete or a scrap or a mangled die cap?

I do think it's an error, just hard to explain the design in the indent.

[Dick]

tjhese are the kind of enigmas, that Mike Diamond likes. Mike?
would you care to expound at length?
Dick

[eagames]

[mikediamond]

It's a partial brockage from an off-center quarter.

[eagames]

[Dick]

Thank you, Mike! I knew there had to be a logical answer. I didn't venture a guess, because I can't see it well enough to make any kind of decision, so no need to mess up a muddy picture.
keep your long-handled drawers handy, because it is going to get COLD!
Dick