1970-D Washington Quarter: What happens when a tired die meets a tired planchet.

So I visited my favorite B&M today. 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 clipped planchet, at least that's what I think it's classified as. 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 clip 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.

PS, I also brought home a handful of other coins as well. I will be posting those in another thread to come.

 

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Thank you, it's my pleasure.

 

Wonderful coin! Excellent story as well.

 

Well done, I like it.

 

@jtlee321
Really nice. But that is not a Ragged Clipped Planchet. Just a Defective Planchet.

 

See, that's what I would have called it. I had a 1964 Kennedy Half that was similar. I called it a broken or defective planchet and was told it was a ragged clipped planchet. For my personal records, I simply refer to it as a broken planchet.

 

Cool
A Ragged Edge happens at the edge of the sheet

 

Amazing!

I was looking for evidence that the flow lines point in a different direction where the metal was flowing toward the crack. For example, at the right end of the arrows, the lines point parallel to the coin's edge, and perpendicular to the crack.

On a moment's reflection, though, I realized that shouldn't happen -- those flow lines built up on the die over many thousands of strikes on normal planchets, and one hit on a defective planchet won't alter them. And, in fact, you see the same orientation (parallel to the coin's edge) at the left end of the arrows, far from the crack. I assume the lines just build up that way as metal flows toward those areas of higher relief.

Thanks for sharing the coin, and thanks for these superb photos!

 

hungry little bugger

 

@jtlee321
Ragged Fissure!
http://www.error-ref.com/fissures_-_ragged___smooth/

 

Excellent coin. Wouldn't it have been great if it also would have been stuck on the dime stock planchet from that year and mint?

 

Good eye! I really like it, especially the bold metal flow patterns. Trade ya my slingshot and a boofrog for it.

 

How's the luster on it?

 

Sorry guys, I'm at work right now. I'll be able to answer some of your questions when I get home.

 

Great coin and fantastic photos! I'm happily jealous

 

The luster is pretty nice. Although I am sure it would be much better had it been struck from a fresh die. The odd part is that George's forehead and the top of his head and on his neck just north of the crack in the planchet are more glossy rather than a normal mint luster. It's almost as if the die was getting polished by the harder metal over it's life and transferred that polish look to the coin. I don't think it's circulation wear as the polished look ends right at the seam where his head meets the field.

 

So here are a few close ups I shot this evening of the fissure. Since I have a "Great Wall of George" I may as well call this one the "George Canyon".

The crystalline structure of the copper is pretty neat. It reminds me of cinder rock from a volcano.

 

Do you think the flow lines and / or the weak strike is due to the amount of metal missing??

 

No, the flow lines are due to the very late die state. The weakness in the strike has a little bit to do with the metal that is missing, but it's a combination of both.