Here’s a cool one that die was caked with grease. There are a lot of great greased quarters in the state quarter series.
Or an die adjustment strike, Struck with low ram pressure. Usually a greaser only affects one side. Others, please check me on that statement.
The reeded edge seems complete, so I am more inclined that the coin is a greaser. Whichever it is, a cool-looking coin. Thanks for sharing, @Gorham_Collector.
That is a good point, I would want to know a little bit more about how the coin strikes up. The third edge is rarely not struck up on a coin unless there is a collar issue. Do die adjustment strikes, or weak strikes show a strong third side?
The following NGC page shows some of the difference between die adjustment strikes and struck throughs. The reeding edge seems to be one of the deciding factors. https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/1115
Even in that article, it says that strike thru mostly happens on one side PHOTO #8: Obverse of a State Quarter struck through grease. Note the resemblance to a die adjustment strike, except the reeded edge is full. Struck thrus can also affect just one side of a coin, while a die adjustment strike will show weakness on both. Click to enlarge
I think it’s just one of those rare instances where both sides have been affected by grease. as in some of the comments the first adjustment strikes the reeding would be affected due to the amount of pressure it takes to put the design and reeding on the coin. (Full reeding on this one)
There is an earlier CT post regarding possible struck through on both sides, especially on state quarters. I think it has some good reference info. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/do-any-struck-through-errors-show-on-both-sides-of-a-coin.362607/
The quarter above shows quite a few of the characteristics known with weak strikes, except the third side. It makes me wonder what the third side of the coin looks like. If it is 100% full then I completely agree with grease filled dies. But in these 6 points given on Error-ref it doesn't quite match the criteria for a greaser. https://www.error-ref.com/?s=Die+adjustment+strike The below is a quote from the page. Weak strikes are sometimes confused with grease strikes – coins that are struck through a heavy layer of compacted die fill. It’s actually quite easy to tell the two errors apart. A weak strike will show a poorly developed or absent design rim. A grease strike will show a very well-developed design rim. A weak strike will retain some, most, or all of the planchet’s original proto-rim. The proto-rim is erased in a grease strike. A weak strike will retain the beveled rim/edge junction of the planchet. The bevel will be lost in a grease strike. The edge will be weakly struck and relatively narrow in a weak strike. The edge will be tall and vertical in a grease strike. Reeding will be weak or absent in a weak strike. Reeding will be very strong in a grease strike. In a weak strike, extent and pattern of weakness will be essentially the same on both faces. Uneven weakness is a hallmark of most grease strikes. The photo below shows a weakly-struck 2007 Montana quarter. It was struck on a Schuler press, a model that doesn’t even require ram pressure and die clearance to be adjusted by means of a test run. The design rim is fairly well formed because state quarter dies have a relatively flat die face (very little die convexity).
The design rim on mine is pretty defining there very strong. Reeding is complete For me I’d say sometimes the hardest coin to tell if strike thru it a greaser when it’s happened on both sides is the shield cent. No feeding to go by only the design rim and sometimes at that it looks flat on both examples. I’ve seen both graded and I’ve compared the two but it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what would differentiate the two errors.
My first thought was it may have been a weak strike, but upon reading these posts and the reference pages, I would have to agree that it is a strike through on both sides. I quote from the reference @happy_collector posted: "The edge of a die adjustment strike will be either weak or missing. This is an important difference from a struck thru which has full edge detail."
Agreed, here is another quote from Error-ref. And this is what gives me pause, https://www.error-ref.com/?s=Die+adjustment+strike Weak strike progressions can move in either direction – from weak to strong or from strong to weak. Such a progression can also show an erratic pattern of strengthening and weakening. That’s not what you’d expect of a test run. Also, Ultimate cause is virtually impossible to determine. A weak strike could be due to a loose or cracked press frame, a loose or broken knuckle joint, a mistimed anvil or hammer die, a broken cam associated with either die, a jam-up in the guts of the press, a jam-up associated with an adjacent die pair, a broken circuit breaker, or simply dies that have fallen out of adjustment. A weakly struck coin could also be a test piece, otherwise known as a “die adjustment strike” or a “die trial”. Many weak strikes are labeled as such. But unless you were there the moment it was struck, there is no way to know. Therefore the terms “die trial”, “die adjustment strike”, “test piece”, and “set-up piece” should be abandoned.
