reengraved feathers on Washington quarters

[e1cnr]

How many different years have reengraved feathers on the eagle? They can be seen on the lower wing row on both sides of the legs...

[RWB]

What date/mint?

[e1cnr]

philadelphia

 

this one is 1955, but have seen others

[RWB]

Seems to be rather sloppy work - unlikely done by the engraver or an assistant. (Gilroy Roberts or Frank Gasparo)

[bsshog40]

I'm glad you commented roger. I've never heard legitimate washie feathers being engraved but the first two comments let me know that it must be. When I looked at the engraving on this washie, first thing I thought was someone did some dremel work on this thing.

[e1cnr]

I'm glad you commented roger. I've never heard legitimate washie feathers being engraved but the first two comments let me know that it must be. When I looked at the engraving on this washie, first thing I thought was someone did some dremel work on this thing.

 

these are raised lines, but it looks like someone could have used a dremel on the die - a bored night watchman?

 

these or versions can be found on all early 1950's years as far as I can tell.

[ldhair]

Raised lines?

[coinman1794]

How many different years have reengraved feathers on the eagle? They can be seen on the lower wing row on both sides of the legs...

 

There are a number of hand re-engraved Washington quarter varieties from the '50s. While not a comprehensive list, the Cherrypicker's Guide recently added 1952 FS-902, Hand-Engraved Tail Feathers, which happens to be a later die state of the Superbird variety. They also added a 1957-D business strike with re-engraved tail feathers. 1957-D FS-901 reads:

 

"Many of the tail-feather details were polished or abraided away; the design was then strengthened by the cutting in of crude tail-feather outlines" (Vol. 2, 5th Ed. Pg 203).

[RWB]

This type of localized "neighborhood improvement" is found on certain years of Morgan dollars and in spots of commemoratives such as the 1920 Pilgrim half.

 

The Morgan feather work in this category resembles the sloppy work shown on your quarter. In both instances it is likely something a die setter (as opposed to an Irish setter) might do to prolong the life of an over polished die.

 

Die polishing was done by the die setters and die sinkers – usually in or near the coining room. Die sinkers would be unlikely to alter a working die because the engravers were in and out all the time. But the production floor was a different place and the die setters were more-or-less the boss. Keeping a die in production was good. Changing dies frequently was bad. If the likelihood of getting caught was small, the dies might be altered and kept in production longer.

 

When the engraving department had a hand in resurfacing old dies, the common practice was to repunch weak areas, provided the balance of the die was OK.

 

[e1cnr]

The 1952 proof occasionally has a "S" engraved on its chest, called the 'superbird' variety.