Quarter planchet error? What is this thing?

So today I was unrolling coin to ship out and came across this Quarter. There are no marks on the edge to indicate sanding/grinding, it weighs noticeably lighter than a regular Quarter, and does not sound right when you drop it.

It might be hard to see in the pictures, but the finish is also odd, "pebble-finish" or "sand like" is the only way I can describe it. It's almost like the planchet never made it to the final stage of finishing, it's a rough/raw metal.

When you flip it on it's side it looks like a sandwich. There are the outer layers (silver part) and the inner layer (copper with the rib things on a normal coin). If I run my fingernail across it, it dips down slightly when crossing the inner layer.

Let me know what you think, I'm not really sure what to do with it yet.



Thanks,
John

 

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It has had an extended soak in an acid that attacks the copper more readily than the coppernickel alloy.

 

Here's another recent thread on this "error"... it seems we've been having a hard time convincing the non-believers that this is merely an acid dip.

http://www.cointalk.com/t188623/

 

Definitely an acid job.

 

So what's the deal with these acid baths? People do this in an attempt to sell fake errors? Or do they just have nothing better to do and dip coins in acid? Lol

 

Just to clean it off....

 

which then backfires horribly? Why would someone even bother on a common date/crappy quarter?

 

Sometimes it is people trying to fake something, sometimes it is just people goofing around to see what will happen, and sometimes it can even happen by accident. Coin laying in a puddle in an area with a high acid rain rainfall. Takes longer, but it can still do it.

 

Acid, as the consensus says.

 

I did it once because the quarter was so badly in shape, you couldn't really even make it out as a quarter. So I dipped it to clean it so the person counting the change when I spent it wouldn't make any claims that it was just a round piece of metal.

 

Sometimes it's done to try to fool others; sometimes it's done in a foolish attempt to clean a coin; sometimes it's done as a classroom (lab) experiment, and other times it's done because the person doesn't have anything better to do.

Chris

 

Hey I found one of these as well. Its very thin and sounds different when dropped.
Have you found out anymore info? I dont thinks its post mint or damaged by an individual.

 

Oh BTW mine was a 1983

 

Hello, @Tgibs66. This thread is 8+ years old. Folks will need pictures of what you have to tell you about your coin.