I have a Washington State Quarter that looks like the stamping of it was off center. One side of the border is thicker than the other. Is this worth anything?
A very slight off center strike is generally not worth anything over face value unless you can find someone willing to pay more for it. I believe the strike needs to be roughly 10% off center before the coin is considered highly collectible. Everyone please feel free to correct me if I'm 'off center' here.
First we have to determine what you have. Off center coins occur when the planchet is not centered in the coining chamber when the coin is struck. Being off centered, the planchet keeps the collar from coming up around the coin so an off centered quarter will be slightly larger than normal and will not have a reeded edge. I think what you have is possibly a misaligned die (MAD). This happens when the coin is centered properly but one or both of the dies are not adjusted to be exactly on center. You will still have a reeded edge but the design will be off center. Usually this is on one side but it can be on both sides. Even though they try to keep the die centered I think it is acceptable at the mint for it to be slightly off center. A premium only applies to a MAD if part of the design is cut off. Usually this is the letters since they are typically at the outside of the design. I am not an expert so hopefully Mike Diamond or one of the other experts will come along and confirm this but I think just from your description this is what you have. Are both sides off centered and is the design missing?
