It appears to me that the Mint has slightly modified Washington's portrait on the ATB quarters. Compare the original portrait to the one on the State Quarter series (and latter dated Washington Quarters). As many people are aware, Washington gained "spaghetti hair" late in the original series and on all of the State Quarter series. Now, on the ATB series, Washington appears to have been redesigned to better match his original portrait. The "spaghetti hair" is considerably toned down, the cheekbone and jawline aren't as pronounced, the ponytail and hair ribbon are slightly redesigned and the portrait seems more lifelike. I applaud the Mint and I think the changes are welcome. Additionally, the portrait on the ATB series is now identified with a single designer's initials (JF for John Flanagan) as opposed to two designers on the State Quarter series. STATE QUARTER OBVERSE ATB QUARTER OBVERSE ORIGINAL OBVERSE
The mint announced this change and they did say they were trying to make it more like the original design. They did the same thing with Lincoln on the cent. The 1999 state quarter is slightly different from the later ones. I think it is the groove in Washington's cheek is less pronounced.
Thanks! I must have missed the announcement. I noticed the changes on the Lincoln Cent, too and they are also much appreciated.
