I was wondering if there were any CT experts that have noticed recurring die cracks on early silver Washington quarters (across multiple dates and mint marks). The three recurring die cracks I've been seeing on my coins are... 1) Obverse...across the top of Washington's head just below his "widow's peak" (front to back...and sometimes into the field behind his head) 2) Obverse...a 4-5 mm spine from the point of Washington's bust and curving upward toward "trust". 3) Reverse...a crack that starts at the top of the "Q" in Quarter and runs up the outside of the eagle's right wing (left as you face it). I still don't have a camera, but will post some pictures when I can. I was hoping the description might ring a bell. I'm thinking it may result from a structual weakness in the die due to the quarter's basic design.
Washington Quarter silver 1942-65 PDS have some very well known die variety's. check you Cherrypicker Guide.
I have Cherrypicker's, but I'm on travel and don't have access. Cherrypicker's deals more with RPMs and DD's. I don't recall seeing die crack varieties...but I'll double check when I get home. Thanks for the suggestion! :thumb:
Think about it. The design will have certain stress points and those points develop die cracks. Since the other years have the same design they tend to have the same stress points and will tend to develop cracks in the same places. When the mint notices this they will try to tweak the design slightly to reduced the tendency for the cracks to develop but there is a limit to what they can do. For example look at the reverse of the Lincoln they is those sharp corners were stress points and the die would memorial cent. There have been die cracks coming off the corners of the Memorial to the rim on every date and mint since it was introduced in 1959 til it ended in 2008. No matter what they did those sharp corners were stress points and the dies kept cracking.
That was pretty much what I was thinking about the Washington quarter...but never really noticed it (or heard of it) before now. I was cherrypicking through some OBW rolls and started noticing the same die cracks on multiple dates/mints. Apparently this is common knowledge at CT, but it's news to me. I collect die varieties of the 1804 half cent. I always thought of die cracks as pretty much a random event, but I see your point...especially on the more modern issues. :thumb: Currently, I have about 6-8 dates/mints with each of the three (3) die crack varieties I listed in the original post. I'm looking for other dates to see how much I can grow each collection...should be fun! They'll look nice in an NGC multi-coin holder if I can collect enough of them. I'll post some pics if I ever get around to buying a camera!
