Virginia quarter error or damage

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Claireishere, Jan 19, 2021.

  1. Claireishere

    Claireishere New Member

    D2FBF262-50D4-4273-9924-08F097C0B69B.jpeg B3994BE8-5BFC-4002-B555-76245A4E823B.jpeg Hi, I’m new here. Long time collector of anything slightly different thanks to my dads influence at a young age. However wondering how you tell the difference between damage and errors? I found a Virginia state quarter and Washington appears to have a mole on his chin. How can do you know if it’s a striking error or error that was made after? Also including a photo of a penny that makes me unsure as well. Thank you for any advice.
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    Die chip on the quarter. The cent is damage. Wait for more opinions...
     
  4. SensibleSal66

    SensibleSal66 U.S Casual Collector / Error Collector

    I like the way the yoda thinks , I do ! :beaver:
     
    Claireishere likes this.
  5. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    First, welcome to the neighborhood, @Claireishere !

    I can't tell if the anomaly on the quarter is a die chip or just a small ding. The photo is a tad blurry.

    The penny looks like it fell into a garbage disposal.....PMD!
     
  6. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    Is it raised or recessed? It's looks to me like it's flashing a bit like cut metal.
     
  7. JPD3

    JPD3 Well-Known Member

    I imagine the collecting bug caught a lot of people because they said, "Hey, this one looks different."
    You'll find out that it's a fascinating journey learning what makes currency special (US, foreign or ancient). I'm somewhat new to the game myself and I can tell you it's a ongoing learning process.
    Check out on-line articles to give you an idea of all the differences to consider when looking at oddities on your finds.
    This site has a simple explanation of damaged coins vs. error coins. https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/
    Welcome to the group.
     
    Claireishere likes this.
  8. Claireishere

    Claireishere New Member

    Recessed
     
  9. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    It's probably a circulation hit. A chip would be raised.
     
    spirityoda and Claireishere like this.
  10. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    Based on the direction of the shadows on the quarter, it's a hit from another coin on the chin (i.e., damage).
     
    Claireishere and Beefer518 like this.
  11. Beefer518

    Beefer518 Well-Known Member

    I was going to say exactly what @messydesk said
     
  12. Beefer518

    Beefer518 Well-Known Member

    Welcome to CT @Claireishere

    To answer your question:
    It's fairly simple. 99.9% of 'marks' that are incuse (recessed) were done after the coin left the mint. The other 0.01% could be what's called a 'struck through', where the coin was struck through foreign matter (long list of just about anything, but typically some type of debris), or even a lamination error (look it up). there's probably other reasons, but a recessed mark is almost always post-mint damage (aka PMD).

    A raised mark would be something inherent on the die that made the coin, like a die chip. This is relatively infrequent, but does occur, mostly on tiny details, or in mint marks (D's and O's in particular).

    Keep in mind my statement is very general, and should only be used as a guide, and not the end-all be-all of info.
     
    Claireishere likes this.
  13. Claireishere

    Claireishere New Member

    I looked at the coin guide site listed. So much great info listed however one last coin I’m trying to understand. On his site he said a coin may be an error if it has a reeded edge and still blank. However how would you determine that with a nickel? Also is there such a thing as a soft strike? I have a Nickel that I know has likely been sanded down. What should I look for to tell me that it has been sanded vs it being an error coin? Posting a pic if anyone could help educate me on this I would be grateful. image.jpg image.jpg
     
  14. BronzeAge

    BronzeAge Member

    Since I've done this several times (making mirrors), the reverse looks like it was filed flat.

    The obverse looks like it was sand blasted from the center out, but I've never done that before so I'm only guessing. Seems like a guy had it in a shop and was playing around a bit.
     
  15. BronzeAge

    BronzeAge Member

    Your penny looks like a 1947 nickel I have that looks like it was in a blender. It's my favorite coin, because it has 40 years of grime and corrosion inside (and outside) all the damaged areas. It probably traveled the country a hundred times like that, and nobody threw it out. Pretty cool.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Apr 20, 2021
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page