2000 P South Carolina quarter got the Hog puzzled 2 2

[Hoghead515]

What is going on with this quarter ?  Its got some serious doubling all around the edge of the obverse. None on the reverse. Is this caused by an extremely severe worn obverse die? Or is something else going on?  

Edited December 7, 2021 by Hoghead515

[Henri Charriere]

@Hoghead515

The die died.  Its life expectancy was exceeded. IMHO.

[Coinbuf]

Certainly some die erosion, and its possible that the obv was subjected to some type of weak acid, say like muriatic acid used in swimming pools. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Coinbuf

[Hoghead515]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:02 PM, Coinbuf said:

Certainly some die erosion, and its possible that the obv was subjected to some type of weak acid, say like muriatic acid used in swimming pools. 

Thats a very good posibility. Thats probably why its so distorted around the rim. I been sitting earlier thinking of all the posibilities before i posted it. One was a improperly annealed die. Made it weak around the edges. But im not experienced enough to really know what improper anneled dies do. Just one of the things bouncing in my head. Acid sounds alot more probable. 

[Coinbuf]

Is the rev as mushy as the obv or does it look normal.

[Hoghead515]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:59 PM, Coinbuf said:

Is the rev as mushy as the obv or does it look normal.

Now that you mention it, it does look pretty mushy. Not bad as the obverse tho. Heres a pic. I should of posted it to begin with but had to run off in a hurry and take a trip into town. 

[Hoghead515]

Its hard to tell from my crappy pictures but the reverse looks like its got excess metal built up in spots on the devices. You can see it with a loupe. You can tell it a little bit on the C in Carolina in the pic. My phone takes horrible pics tho. Its got more minor doubling on this side also. Like it was worn pretty bad also. Maybe caused some slight abrasion when it struck it. Could the coin have moved very slightly from extreme worn dies giving it that effect. 

[Hoghead515]

You can really tell it on the U. I tried for a while to capture it in a picture. This is the best I can get. 

[Tim72501]

I've seen lots of quarters similar,  with the tacky look,out of mint rolls.

Some kind of grease, on new dies. Idk.   If so how would they ever make proof like 1st strikes.  

[Hoghead515]

Im thinking this one is done from an extremely worn set of dies that should have been changed way before this coin was struck. That or it was exposed to acid like Coinbuf mentioned. Something like that.   Its got excess metal built up on the devices in spots. Ive never seen one yet that has this look to it. If this is im gonna make a small collection of examples from very worn dies as I find them. Maybe 5 to 10 coins and have them labeled and put up in a seperate box and used for a teaching lesson for my kids and I. That way we can all learn more together and I can show them examples. This will be a perfect example of a damaged coin to include in that collection. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Hoghead515

[Tim72501]

Could it be somesort of cleaner used between die change over. 

I've seen some similar with good details on the coin

[Hoghead515]

On 12/6/2021 at 10:25 PM, Tim72501 said:

Could it be somesort of cleaner used between die change over. 

I've seen some similar with good details on the coin

Not sure. Dont know if they would use something that strong. These others on here would probably know. They will chim in here directly. 

[Conder101]

That is the result of a worn out die.  Features are mushy and the edges of the lettering where it meets the field of the die is chipping/crumbling.

[Henri Charriere]

So does that mean I was right?  The die died?  Not exactly what the NTSB would term "metal fatigue," but being pounded mercilessly into oblivion? (I don't buy that muriatic mutilation theory; what about blebs or decarburization of the die steel?)

Death due to natural causes (aging).

[MorganMan]

Hate to be the odd man here, but that looks like post mint damage to me.

[Hoghead515]

With the coin in hand under a loup, I have to go with @Conder101on this one. I believe the die was worn so bad it was crumbling apart. That was my suspicion when I first seen it.  Thats why it has the gobs of metal raised up perfectly on most the devices. 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Hoghead515

[Oldhoopster]

I think @Conder101aand others are correct.  It was struck by worn dies.  I also think there is a PMD  element.  To me, it looks like their are numerous light contact marks that are contributing to the mushy appearance.  what caused the contact marks - I don't know.  Maybe tumbling, maybe bead blasting, maybe something else.  And maybe I'm wrong. Trying to pinpoint the cause of PMD can be challenging.  It just looks like there is more going on than a worn die, IMO.  

Regardless, there is nothing that would be considered an error, so it really doesn't matter if my thoughts add anything to the discussion.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Oldhoopster

[Henri Charriere]

This coin is over twenty (20) years old. 

Lacking meticulous documentation regarding the trials and tribulations this coin was subjected to during that span of time, I respectfully suggest we put out an APB/BOLO and, if necessary, an INTERPOL Red Notice, on fellow member @cladking for the purposes of soliciting his humble opinion on the species of coin (clad) he champions.

All in favor, say Aye!   😉  🐓 

[RWB]

Interesting....I had thought the Mint simply made the dies look that bad from the start, so they could just let 'em run until the coins looked like electrical box knock-outs. But that South Carolina design is so bad it couldn't have been intentional....

[cladking]

Oops.  Caught me.  I've been reading but wasn't logged in.

I'd feel more comfortable if I could see the coin in hand but it appears to be a worn die strike in a condition I call "beaten by an ugly stick".  I believe this effect is caused by a very large number of tiny collisions or just low speed collisions.  Coins used in slot machines can approximate this but usually they have enough higher speed collisions to leave scratches on the beaten surfaces.   This coin might have gotten caught up in a machine of some sort.   

I just don't see enough clues to make any more guesses but this effect is not extremely uncommon but this coin is a more dramatic example than most.