Is this a retained strikethrough quarter? 0

[Flawless213]

Hi I recently just was given a quarter it's a 1939 d and it seems to have a piece of brass strikethrough and Washington's face I was just wondering if this is it retain strikethrough or did it happen after the fact and should I have it graded thank you

[jgrinz]

Looks like heavily damaged to me

 

[Flawless213]

Yes the coin has its wear and tear but it clearly looks like that piece of brass or copper was struck into the coin at the time of strike

[JKK]

1 hour ago, Flawless213 said:

Yes the coin has its wear and tear but it clearly looks like that piece of brass or copper was struck into the coin at the time of strike

"Clearly." Please explain how why we should believe that over the far likelier explanation of post-mint damage/vandalism. I don't know that much about the state of the minting art circa 1939, so this is an opportunity to learn.

[Greenstang]

It's PMD. If it was a "struck through" that happened during the striking of the coin, it would be flush with the surface, not raised above it plus there would be no cracks around the brass.

[Modwriter]

Looks like it was shot with a bb gun.

[VKurtB]

14 hours ago, Modwriter said:

Looks like it was shot with a bb gun.

Chicken dinnah!

[RWB]

Not a strike through error. The copper/brass was pounded into the quarter after it was struck. If the foreign metal had been on the planchet (or die) before striking, pressure would have made it confirm to the design and it would look normal in design except for the color and maybe an outline of the copper/brass bit.

[James_OldeTowne]

I agree - PMD.

[Flawless213]

Not a bbif it wasn't BB it would have penetrated to the back of the coin and there's no marks on the back of the coin even an indent and I also believe if something was pounded into it then there would be an indent in the back of the coin which there is not

[Just Bob]

2 hours ago, Flawless213 said:

Not a bbif it wasn't BB it would have penetrated to the back of the coin and there's no marks on the back of the coin even an indent and I also believe if something was pounded into it then there would be an indent in the back of the coin which there is not

What do you think happened, given the fact that it could not have happened when the coin was struck - as explained in two different posts above?

[Greenstang]

It doesn't really matter how it happened, what is important is that it could't happen during the striking of the coin which is the only time an error can occur.

There are a limited number of errors that can happen in the striking chamber but there are countless numbers of types of damage that can happen afterwards, many of them that can't be readily explained.

[Modwriter]

On 7/20/2020 at 9:42 AM, VKurtB said:

Chicken dinnah!

I was thinking about shooting a BB into a quarter with my Red Ryder as a test, but did not want to shoot my eye out. I need my eyes for grading.

[VKurtB]

29 minutes ago, Modwriter said:

I was thinking about shooting a BB into a quarter with my Red Ryder as a test, but did not want to shoot my eye out. I need my eyes for grading.

One of two universal injuries for young boys, along with “you’ll break your neck”. I used to plug nickels at 50 feet with a .22 caliber Anschutz target rifle.

Note to newbies: if you run across late 1960’s nickels with nasty dents in ‘em, yeah, it was me.

Edited July 22, 2020 by VKurtB

[Just Bob]

3 hours ago, VKurtB said:

One of two universal injuries for young boys, along with “you’ll break your neck”. 

 That is why you should never run up stairs with scissors. You could fall, break your neck, and put your eye out, all at the same time

[RWB]

Neither a BB nor a small cal bullet -- .22 -- will penetrate a US dime or larger coin, unless driven with abnormal force AND the coin is unable to move when struck.

Edited July 24, 2020 by RWB