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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DEA, post: 5180013, member: 90140&quot;]That&#039;s nice that people have taken the time to study the minting and die making processes.&nbsp; But I don&#039;t think it really answers the question posed by this gentleman.&nbsp; I think he&#039;s looking for &quot;why&quot; someone would say it was ground (or &quot;a headed&quot;), as some have said. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s what I see.&nbsp; Willingly subject to the endless corrections (diplomatically and otherwise) of others. </p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse of that coin - the obverse being the side with Washington&#039;s left facing bust - has what appears to be a good (&quot;good&quot; defined as normal and expected) rim.&nbsp; The rim is that protective raised edge.&nbsp; The rim serves to protect the obverse and reverse from normal wear and tear.&nbsp; The rim is made by a machine or device called an upsetting machine (or something similar to that).&nbsp; So, before the a planchet is struck, the blank runs through this upsetting machine.&nbsp; A blank is just a round piece of metal, which has the proper weight and diameter (very close) of the coin to be minted, stamped from a sheet of metal.&nbsp; The upsetting machine makes that rim on the blank (both the obverse and the reverse at the same time), turning the blank into a planchet (there are other terms for this but not important here).&nbsp; So, a quarter dollar planchet looks like a quarter in every way except that there is no image stamped on either side.&nbsp; Oh, I am almost 100% certain that the actual edge (also referred to as the &quot;third side of a coin&quot;) is smooth.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then the planchet gets to the minting machine.&nbsp; The planchet gets placed on a die (sometimes called the anvil); I think usually on top of the reverse die.&nbsp; Then the&nbsp; &quot;hammer&quot; (where the obverse (maybe it&#039;s the reverse die) die hangs out), smacks the planchet.&nbsp; There is also a third &quot;die&quot; called the collar; the collar, in the case of a quarter dollar, has the reeding on it.&nbsp; The collar is just like it sounds; it is around the edge of the coin. </p><p><br /></p><p>As an aside, I&#039;m sure many will comment (nicely, of course) that many if not most of today&#039;s minting machines smack the planchet while the planchet is vertical and not hornizontal; I&#039;m just trying to make it easier to see in the mind with the quite understandable words &quot;anvil&quot; and &quot;hammer.&quot; </p><p><br /></p><p>The collar keeps the the planchet from spreading out and becoming variably wide from the force of the hammer smacking it.&nbsp; The &#039;force&#039; is tremendous.&nbsp; The collar can have writing (like on our $1 coins) or reeding of some sort.&nbsp; I suspect that without a collar, we would have coins of the same denomination with varying diameters.&nbsp; Moving on, today&#039;s high speed minting machines get the planchet in place, the collar around the planchet, and the smacking in seconds - maybe milliseconds considering how many coins a modern minting machine can spit out freshly minted coins in a minute. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyways, the point of all that is to show you that the reverse of your quarter has no raised edge.&nbsp; There is no rim.&nbsp; That is unusual considering how blanks are turned into planchets, which are turned into coins.&nbsp; Unusual meaning that it is unlikely, very unlikely, <i>almost </i>impossible - that your coin is a Mint error.&nbsp;&nbsp; Since your coin has a smooth reverse, the most logical scenario is that someone with nifty tools and too much time on their hands decided to make that reverse smooth.&nbsp; If your coin still <b>had </b>a rim on the reverse, then a Mint error could be more of an logical probability; probably not, but maybe.&nbsp; Here, in the case of your coin, there is so little doubt for even a &#039;maybe&#039;. </p><p><br /></p><p>Based on all that, I have to agree your coin is post mint damage (PMD); that is, the coin was damaged by someone after the coin left the hands of the Mint. </p><p><br /></p><p>Does that help or satisfy your curiousity?&nbsp; I hope so. </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Have a terrific day, everyone !</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; David[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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