Hi all, I'm new to this forum. Actually this is my very first post. I started collecting coins when I was a kid. First was foreign coins, then added 1964 and older American coins to my collection. It wasn't until roughly five years ago when I realized that there was such a thing as error coins. I've recently started looking for those type of coins as well as the older ones. In 2001, I cracked open a roll of quarters that I picked up at the store. Not sure if the store had got them from the bank directly or if someone gave the roll to them in exchange for paper currency. Anyways, when I removed all of the quarters, one stood out from the rest. It was a different color completely compared to the rest of the quarters. I figured someone painted or plated it, but just for fun, I decided to hang onto it. Fast forward to roughly 2017, I was cleaning out some things at home and ran across the quarter for the first time since I first found it in 2001. I was surprised because I had completely forgot about it. But since I was just recently aware of error coins, I did a little research on-line and learned that there's such a thing as missing clad errors. So now the big questions are, is this a real example of missing clad? How is clad applied to coins at the mint? How can I test it to see if it's really missing clad or if it's bogus? I have an electronic gram scale and this quarter is just slightly lighter then one of the same year, make and model.
Usually Missing Clad layer occurs just on one side. It is ultra rare and has a certain look when it is both sides. Looks like. Environmental Toning. Probably Chemical. Also.. There is another type of mint error called an Improperly Annealed planchet. That can occur on both sides. It may be that.
Thank you for all the great replies. I greatly appreciate it. I'll take more pix and attached them over the weekend. I'll also weigh it and post the exact measurement. How could I test it to see if it's actually missing clad or if it's painted, plated or chemically altered? Can I scratch it like on the edge and see if finish comes off, in the event it's painted or plated? I'll be posting up more suspect error coins that I've collected over the past two or so years and get feedback on them as well. Thanks.
First, welcome to the neighborhood! As a rule, it is extremely rare to find a coin that is missing, both, the obverse and reverse clad layers. Missing both clad layers would enable a Mint employee to spot it relatively easily and remove it for destruction. The press is calibrated to exert a certain amount of pressure (tonnage) so that the strike will allow coin metal to flow into all of the recesses of the obverse and reverse dies. If the clad layer is missing on both sides, it is likely that the strike will be very weak and most of the devices will appear "mushy". This doesn't seem to be the case on your coin, so I am concluding it had toned after it left the Mint. Chris
Thank you for the very helpful information Chris. I get what your saying. If the clad were missing at the time it was being pressed, the features of the coin would not be sharp. Because , the press is calibrated to have that clad layer present. Funny someone would do this to a brand new coin I guess. I had run across it in a quarter roll during 2001.
Keep in mind, that it is possible that a coin could have a relatively sharp strike if just one of the clad layers was missing before the coin was struck. Below is an example of one that I found in a $100 Mixed P&D bag that I bought from the Mint. The other possibility for a "mushy" strike is when the clad layer separates after the coin is struck. Chris
Quarter missing clad, weight would be less than normal. Quarter weight missing one clad layer = 4.71 g +/- 0.347 g; missing two clad layers = 3.75 g +/- .467 g.
Appears plated. If both sides were missing clad it would be very thin, and very light and the strike may not look completely normal on both sides as this coin does. I am going to say this is a plated coin and weighs very close to 5.67 g.
It could very well be a painted, plated, chemically altered quarter. That's what I was thinking when I first found it back in 2001. Back then I didn't know there was such a thing as error coins produced from the mints. I wasn't able to weigh it over the weekend because I didn't get the chance. I keep all my coins in a safety deposit box at the bank and I wasn't able to go there over the weekend. I was having too much fun indulging in my outdoor hobbies . I did weigh it about a year ago though and it was lighter than the normal quarter of the same make/model that is also shown next to it in the pix that I posted. Late last night I was able to do a little research on youtube and saw how coins can be changed to look like copper by way of a 9volt battery, copper coil, and some chemical heated up in a glass cup. Some time this week when I get the coin in question out of the lock box I'll weigh it and confirm it's weight. I'm so tempted to scratch the side of it just to see if it's in fact just coated with something from paint, plated and/or chemically altered as shown in the video below. Here's a cool video of it:
