Quarter Stamped on Wrong Planchet?? 1 1

[LollyPop99]

Hello, Newbie here. I have had a large change jar for about 20+ years and the bottom finally broke out. I found a very interesting 1966 Quarter that may be stamped on the wrong planchet. I took the quarter into a coin shop to gather more details and they said that the quarter may be stamped on the wrong planchet. They weighed the quarter and it appeared to have the same weight as a normal quarter, but advised me to send it in to NGC to have it evaluated. I don't know much about coins, so I was hoping to get some general information/input on this type of coin. Any information provided would is appreciated. 

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum and the hobby!

First off, never handle a coin that could be valuable with your fingers on the face of the coin. Handle it by the edges only.

Going off only on what is presented here, if the coin shop you took this to had an accurate scale and stated the weight was close to a normal issue quarter, then I would say this is not struck on a wrong planchet. If it were, most likely the weight would be wildly off or be able to be matched closely to the incorrect planchet it would have been struck on. For example, if the weight was closer to a half dollar planchet, or foreign planchet, or even a nickel planchet.

The fact that in the photo of the two quarters side by side if you are showing us the relative thickness to another quarter, that typically has not made a difference in this area as some planchets can be a little thicker or thinner than others and still fall within mint tolerance as well as coins with wear will be slightly thinner than coins with less wear.

In the photos provided, I see nothing abnormal in the appearance of the quarter to tell me that it was struck on anything but a normal quarter planchet for the year it was minted, as in the full design is presented and neither design elements are missing (as in a smaller planchet), nor is there additional metal (as in if it was struck on a larger than quarter planchet).

In my humble opinion, without having any additional information or tests done, I would say this is a normally struck quarter that falls within mint tolerances.

As advice, I would take this to a different coin shop and have it checked over again for a second opinion (as I don't have the coin in hand and you do). If there still remains any doubt about the planchet, a third opinion might be needed. I am only stating this as if it is deemed to be a quarter struck within mint tolerances, you would probably be out about $120 in the costs to submit this and have it graded as an error coin.

Also being you are new to the hobby, I suggest you read some resources and become educated to coinage and the minting process. I would recommend at a minimum the Redbook of US Coins, and also a book titled ANA Grading Standards for US Coins, 7th edition. I do not recommend error hunting for new collectors until they get the basics down as it is a niche in the hobby and has its own vast research area on topics different from the basics of coin collecting. I would also avail myself of the resources available online right here on this website.

Again, welcome, and we will see what others have to say about your coin as they weigh in on it.

[EagleRJO]

If the weight is correct if may just be a discolored coin.  I don't think you got good info from that coin shop and would take it to a different one that has an XRF tester to check composition and maybe recheck the weight.

[JKK]

Well, the outcome there is that you should no longer trust that coin dealer's knowledge. There's zero good reason to think this was struck (not stamped) on the wrong planchet.

[Sandon]

    Welcome to the NGC chat board and Happy New Year. 

   I don't think that the coin dealer with whom you spoke gave you good advice. Once the coin was determined to be the correct weight for a normal copper nickel clad quarter (approximately 5.67 grams), that should have been the end of your inquiry.  Submitting this coin to NGC for grading and error attribution would cost you a great deal of money (likely $100 or more), and you would almost certainly end up with a common, circulated ordinary 1966 Washington quarter still worth face value in an NGC holder with a grading determination of "Very Fine Details--Environmental Damage." Contrary to what you may have seen on the internet, it is extremely unusual to find any significant error coin in circulation.

     A few 1965 quarters are known that were accidentally struck on stray 90% silver planchets intended for 1964 dated coinage. It is conceivable that there were still such blanks around the mint's production floor in 1966, but coins struck from such planchets would weigh approximately 6.25 grams.   Moreover, your coin's coloration is more characteristic of environmentally damaged copper-nickel than of tarnished silver.  The coin is of the correct diameter and thickness as well as the correct weight, essentially negating the possibility that it was struck on a foreign or other wrong metal planchet.

   Your 1966 Washington quarter, which had a mintage of over 821 million pieces, is supposed to be composed of a composition of outer layers or copper nickel alloy (75% copper, 25% nickel) bonded to an inner core of pure copper. The copper nickel alloy and the copper core are both chemically active and will darken like your coin if the coin is buried in the ground for a time or exposed to a variety of other unfavorable environmental conditions. I have seen many copper-nickel coins with this coloration over the course of my now approaching 53 years as a collector and spent those I received in change. It is conceivable that the outer layers of this coin were improperly alloyed, giving it an unusual, reddish color that darkened as the coin circulated, but it would be an expensive proposition to determine this for a circulated coin, and an error of that type wouldn't be worth the cost. 

    The best coins to save from your change jar would likely be those that were handed to you directly from rolls of uncirculated (new) coins, retain their full mint detail and luster, and don't have significant abrasions or any fingerprints or discoloration.  Someday, such pieces will likely have value, at least to future generations of collectors. I would rinse such pieces off with cold tap water, pat (don't rub) them dry with a clean tissue and let them air dry for a while, then store them in plastic coin tubes or other appropriate holders.  As noted, never touch the surfaces of a collectible coin (other than its edges, if you must) with your bare hands, as the oils in your skin are among the substances that can discolor them.    

[l.cutler]

I can't say it as eloquently as Sandon, but I would say it was a buried coin.  This is exactly what clad coins look like that have been dug.  I've found hundreds of them metal detecting.  Detectorists usually put their clad coins back into circulation just waiting to be found!

[dcarr]

On 1/2/2024 at 2:41 AM, l.cutler said:

I can't say it as eloquently as Sandon, but I would say it was a buried coin.  This is exactly what clad coins look like that have been dug.  I've found hundreds of them metal detecting.  Detectorists usually put their clad coins back into circulation just waiting to be found!

 

When I had some "dug" coins that looked like that, I put them into the "CoinStar" machine

 

[VKurtB]

On 1/1/2024 at 4:36 PM, LollyPop99 said:

Hello, Newbie here. I have had a large change jar for about 20+ years and the bottom finally broke out. I found a very interesting 1966 Quarter that may be stamped on the wrong planchet. I took the quarter into a coin shop to gather more details and they said that the quarter may be stamped on the wrong planchet. They weighed the quarter and it appeared to have the same weight as a normal quarter, but advised me to send it in to NGC to have it evaluated. I don't know much about coins, so I was hoping to get some general information/input on this type of coin. Any information provided would is appreciated. 

Here is the unfortunate truth. The majority of coin shop owners are m-o-r-o-n-s. Yes, that's right. I said it and I mean it. I may be being a bit generous. The best experts that you can easily gain access to are right here on this board. Not YouTube, not CoinTalk, not a coin dealer, right here. End of story.

[Greenstang]

If it is a wrong planchet, then what planchet would it be struck on that is the same weight and size
as a regular quarter? To me it is just an environmentally damaged quarter.    
Try rubbing the surface, sometimes you can rub the discolouration off.

[EagleRJO]

What coin shop gave you the false indication that this coin may be struck on a wrong planchet and might be worth submitting so that others can avoid that shop.

[Rob’s Coins]

Hello, newbie here as well…. I’m surprised no-one mentioned possible missing clad layer?  Here is a like from pcgs…

https://www.pcgs.com/news/missing-clad-layer-mint-error-coins#:~:text=The most desirable side to have missing is,worth around twice as much as a reverse.
 

maybe because of the pic on the rim it does appear to have a clad layer.  Maybe got worn away with chemicals or being in dirt as other more experienced coiners have said.

 

 

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 1/4/2024 at 6:17 AM, Rob75B11 said:

Hello, newbie here as well…. I’m surprised no-one mentioned possible missing clad layer?

Can't be if the weight is within tolerance as the OP stated. A single clad layer is roughly 15% of the gross weight of a quarter, which is noted in the article you linked. 

If the weight is within tolerance the most plausible explanation is environmental damage. 

Edited January 4 by Fenntucky Mike
Words

[Greenstang]

What Fenntucky Mike plus the fact that if it was missing the clad layer,   
it would show signs of being weakly struck.

[J P M]

It was most likely in red dirt before it ended up in the change jar. Also, I have seen clad coins that were mixed in with copper cents take on a copper tone.  20 years is a long time

[VKurtB]

Wow! A lot of collectors surely do have vivid imaginations.

[Rob’s Coins]

Well, If it makes you feel better, you helped me!!  Found a state quarter, googled, yup… looks like a missing clad to me.   Thought, yeah, I should go back and weight that thing.  Weighted about the same as a standard quarter.  Took a pocket knife…. What the heck! Let’s test this theory…. Yup, clad layer underneith.    You guys are doing your jobs, even if you do get harsh comments from time to time  

[VKurtB]

On 1/4/2024 at 2:57 PM, Rob75B11 said:

You guys are doing your jobs,

What jobs would that be? I’m retired. I haven’t had a job for slightly over 3 years. I’m over my county’s average age of mortality. (If you’d see how people drive here, you’d understand that.)

Edited January 4 by VKurtB