Hello all, I am new to this site and wanted to ask about this quarter that my mother found tonight while sorting through a bag of coins. One side is struck, and the other is not. It is thinner than a normal quarter, is one inch in diameter, it is .15 ounces, and it is 4 grams. What happened to it to make it appear this way?
Welcome to Cointalk Someone had to much time on there hands PMD (post mint damage) not a mint error. JMO Dave
The reverse was ground off. You can see the toolmarks from the machinery or tool that did it. Bench grinder is my guess. You can see where they had to turn the coin at different angles. It's not easy to hold a small object like a coin against a grinder wheel without it flying away from you. The next question is, "Why?" Only the person who did it could tell you that. As @Dave363 suggested, it was probably someone who was bored and had a bit too much time (and some kind of grinding tool) on their hands.
Yes, agreed, it is post mint damage. A plausible explanation might be that someone intended to make a "love token" - engrave the back with initials or words, then for some reason didn't finish it. Just a guess.