I found this quarter and it looks like it was once a 1973 or 1975 and restruck into a 1978. see picture, and is there anyway I can find out for sure? also the "IN" is filled in and also the mint mark D is filled in.
Can't be a 5 because no quarters were minted with a 75 date. That being said, it appears the 8, for lack of a better explanation, has been squashed.
Hi Thanks for your input, no one said anything about the D that is clearly filled in and also the "in" in God we Trust. I have compared the quarter to others with an 8, and none are this thick or shaped this way.
Looks to me like a well circulated Quarter that took some hits all over especially the mintmark. Nothing special and not an error.
The coin was struck with a die that had began to deteriorate. Usually the devices closest to the rim will be the first to show signs of this, as this is the place where the most metal movement and friction occur. The filled in D also lends evidence of this as it is not uncommon for the piece of the die, that punches that hole, to break or chip out, on a well worn die. All of this, coupled with heavy circulation wear, is what I'm seeing on your coin.
ok I guess maybe I don't understand the concept of what error means. I thought any coin not perfect was an error, even if its a common error like a filled in mint mark. but you're telling me its not an error, could someone explain to me what exactly an error is? thanks
To try and explain it could get complicated, after coins are struck, they, like most everything that is manufactured in this world, go through a quality control process where things that aren't up to snuff are rejected. What is or isn't considered unacceptable varies, sometimes with written guidelines, sometimes it's just the opinion of the quality control officer. Your coin, though it may seem to be an error to us, wasn't to the mint and they purposely released it for circulation. These types of errors, though some do collect them, are considered very common and have little or no value over the face value of the coin. All that being said, an error that is very collectable, would be one that under no circumstances should have left the mint, and should have been caught by quality control. These types of errors are not as common, making them more valuable to a collector. Google 'Types of US Mint Errors' and you will find a wealth of information on what is rare and what is common.
So you all are telling us that we have two quarters that some how were damaged in the same place and are the same year. I also have one that is the same in all aspects. I doubt that can happen.
On the contrary, what happened to the quarter, happens all the time. In fact it is extremely common. And once one understands the coining process, it's extremely easy to see why. The coin isn't damaged, the details you are seeing are from the die. The D is filled in because the D on the die is filled in. So every coin struck with that die is going to have the D filled in. The marks on the 8 are because there was a die chip. So every single coin struck with that die, once the chip had occurred, is going to have that same mark on the 8. It's just that simple.
An error is an occurrence of something going wrong in the manufacturing of a specific coin. Something like a filled D is a characteristic passed to the coin and all coins struck from that die after the damage occurred, therefore it is not an error; just an "imperfect" example, as struck.
