BLii Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Hello. I was just wondering if this is a legit quarter with errors. Any tips on how to spot fake errors from real ones? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Junk damaged coin. GoldFinger1969 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandon Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Welcome to the NGC chat board. Your 1988-P quarter was simply damaged (mutilated) after it left the mint. A mint error occurs during the manufacturing process and is limited to irregularities that could have occurred during that process. The majority of coins that new or casual collectors post on this forum claiming to exhibit mint errors are damaged. Most of the rest exhibit minor anomalies such as die chips, cracks, and misalignments or "strikethroughs" that are classified as quality control issues or minor errors and worth little or no premium to knowledgeable collectors. Most significant mint errors were intercepted by bank or counting house personnel before reaching circulation and sold to coin dealers. Since 2002 the U.S. Mint has maintained procedures that keep most of the more significant errors from leaving the mint in the first place. It is, accordingly, extremely unusual to find any significant mint error or other rare coin in circulation or among random accumulations of circulating coins. (I haven't in 53 years of collecting and looking through change and know only one person who ever has found any such coin.) See the following article recently posted by a leading coin dealer: Jeff Garrett: Fake News and Misinformation in Numismatics | NGC (ngccoin.com). Mint errors are an advanced topic in numismatics that requires an underlying knowledge of how coins are manufactured. it is also important to have knowledge of more basic areas, such as the history and types of U.S. coinage, basic authentication, and grading. The following forum topics identify print and online resources from which you may obtain such knowledge: The second topic includes links to resources regarding mint errors. Edited July 24 by Sandon BLii and GoldFinger1969 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimitlessInvesting541 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 I know the condition isn’t great but it’s old and dirty but is this a legit error!!1890 penny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powermad5000 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Hello and welcome to the forum! Twice. As a general rule @LimitlessInvesting541, it is not advisable to latch on to a thread about a different coin with your coin. The responses become too confusing as to which response is for which coin. So while I am addressing you, I will respond to your query. Your coin is heavily circulated with some light damage and minor corrosion, so I would say you do not have an error. If your coin were in uncirculated condition and had a depression we might call it a strike through, but to add to that, the area in question on your coin would be considered to insignificant to be awarded such a designation. I think it is just damage anyway. Onto the OP, your Washington Quarter is just badly damaged. It is possible someone may have been trying to pass it off as an error coin like some of the damaged junk coins I see on eBay listed as errors. I really hope you did not buy this quarter from anywhere under the impression that it is an actual error because it is not. It is just damage. On 7/23/2024 at 10:11 PM, BLii said: Any tips on how to spot fake errors from real ones? Error collecting is a specialized niche in the hobby and even advanced collectors struggle with this topic. It takes advanced knowledge of the entire Mint processes to be able to properly attribute a coin with a particular error. Basically, there are only so many ways for the Mint to err in the making of a coin, but there are innumerable ways for it to get damaged once it leaves the Mint. I really can't explain this in a flash course as it takes years of research into the Mint processes just to begin to understand how errors are made. If you read all of the information on the website error-ref.com, you will have somewhat a grasp of it, but you still need to understand all of the Mint processes to know what they are referring to on that site. For someone entering into this hobby, errors are not a good place to start. Edited July 24 by powermad5000 BLii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halbrook Family Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 who tried to clean it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halbrook Family Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 Sandpaper probably isn't good for a coin. Nor a wire brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powermad5000 Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 On 7/27/2024 at 1:16 PM, Halbrook Family said: Sandpaper probably isn't good for a coin. Nor a wire brush. Not probably. It simply is not. At all. Nothing abrasive including heavy duty soap should come in contact with a coin's surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
