If you don’t want to read it all, you don’t have to: I am happy to receive any feedback/information from more experienced and educated people on this coin, based on the images I’ve provided. Thank you very much for your time and effort.
Little background for those who want to read: I spent last night and a good chunk of today trying to learn all I can about coin production (had zero prior knowledge) because of this oddball quarter I came across. I’ve been obsessing over it, all because of some change I received; figured that if it doesn’t have added monetary value, I’ve gained something from it and enjoyed learning what I have, so far. & I apologize in advance if this post/inquiry seems elementary, I am 100% fresh to this community.
About what I’ve researched & what I see on this coin: Well, to start, I am torn between whether this is PMD or an error. There are errors that I’ve come across that share the tiniest bit of resemblance, but I don’t see enough similarity to be able to say, “Eureka! Figured out what this is!” I scoured reliable sources for errors/etc to try and figure it out (thank you, Error-Ref) and sadly, I still am not sure what I’m looking at.
- Looking at the edge of the coin, if I consider error as possibility, I’m guessing this could possibly be from a collar deformity? However, considering that this is a 25ish year old coin, maybe it met abuse in its life. From what I’ve read, from several sources, nearly all reasons for edge damage (like dents) are PMD. However, other parts of the coin put me on the fence about this.
- Looking at the obverse face, there are several things that stand out to me. First, there’s what appears to be a crack, or some sort of impression from something. I’m assuming it’s not from a die crack, since that would be raised. (Correct me if I am wrong!) Maybe it’s from a strike on the coin? It doesn’t appear on the other side, but I’m still not sure someone altered it or not. Secondly, the rim has a deformity from what I believe is a direct result of the dent there (on the edge/rim, lower right side of the mint date) Did that push/warp the “1998”? I don’t know if that is a sign of mint error or if it’s a result of it getting bashed around. I’m not sure if something like that can be recreated, but I’m uneducated. Lastly, there seems to be flaws in Washington’s hair— again, not sure how to tell if this is PMD or during production. The upper flaw in his hair looks to have some grain to it, so that might mean something? Probably not, but I made the observation.
- On the reverse face, the dents on the edge seem to also warp the rim, but I don’t see warping around them. However, I did notice some warping in the coin inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM”— that seems to be fairly close to the deformity that looks like a chip? Not sure if that has any significance, either. Lastly, on the reverse face, I noticed the rim and the end of “America” fade into an irregular flat space. Is it just from wear and tear? I feel like a baby who doesn’t know how to walk or talk here…
Wrapping it up, I apologize for the length of all of this: I’m here asking for your much appreciated (and needed) help. And, I hope to be able to pass on the knowledge one day! Please correct me on anything I wrote that may have been wrong, despite whatever your thoughts are on what the coin is. Even if it’s totally PMD, I want this to be an opportunity to learn more. Any advice on what to look for in oddball coins would be so appreciated. I won’t forget it! Thank you all for your time and help!
