I dont usually go through quarters but I pulled this 1 out my change today and noticed something that I didnt see on the other 1984 quarters I pointed arrows at what I saw that was unusual. is this common?
It has to do with the metal fatigue caused by the overuse of the dies. Metal as it is pounded over and over again, changes in structure. The die becomes distorted, often around the edges of the devices. The distortions on the die end up on the struck coins. We see this all the time on nickels and copper-nickel clad coins. In all actuality, we see this on all coins if the dies are overused. Of course, many dies are used until they are really worn so many coins show signs of die deterioration. Die deterioration doubling is a well known phenomenon and it does not add any value to a coin. In fact in the case of Uncirculated coins, evidence of die deterioration can diminish the value of a coin.
You will see this a lot on early clad quarters. Finding a nice circulated coin without damage and early die state can be a major challenge.
