Coins: Am I fabulously wealthy?

[Zkribbler]

I have one of those recent "state" quarters. I can tell because the date at the bottom of the face side has been replaced by the phrase "one quarter dollar."

But the back side is totally blank. Obviously a misstrike. I'm guessing it's worth maybe $10 or more, but then again what do I know?

Does anybody here know how to value coins that have been misstruck?

[-Jrabbit]

Depends totally on the rarity. A true misstruck coin is definitely worth hanging onto.

There's a place called www.coinsite.com that has a Q/A thing. Personally, I'd take it to an apprasier - never letting it out of my sight.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Counterfeit. Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $.25

[laurentius]

For your question: No.

[Vesayen]

Hold onto it. Misprints can be worth alot if they are rare.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Koyaanisqatsi
Counterfeit. Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $.25

It's not counterfeit. My greatest concern is that someone shaved off the back side. But it doesn't look shaved.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
It's not counterfeit. My greatest concern is that someone shaved off the back side. But it doesn't look shaved.

There are telltale signs if the back of the coin was machined. Just look at it with a magnifying lens under good lighting conditions.

[Provost Harrison]

...and look for?

[Kuciwalker]

Aliens.

[Provost Harrison]

Really small ones?

[MichaeltheGreat]

Re: Coins: Am I fabulously wealthy?

Originally posted by Zkribbler
I have one of those recent "state" quarters. I can tell because the date at the bottom of the face side has been replaced by the phrase "one quarter dollar."

But the back side is totally blank. Obviously a misstrike. I'm guessing it's worth maybe $10 or more, but then again what do I know?

Does anybody here know how to value coins that have been misstruck?

If it was shaved, you'd see copper-nickel alloy of the die instead of the nickel plating on the surface of the die. It would also be considerably thinner than a normal quarter, since the depth of impression from the striking of the coin on the original die is pretty significant. Fully shaving and polishing an impressed coin die to look like a blank, even on one side, would be a lot of work and require a little bit of machine shop setup, so the only person who'd likely do something like that has both a bizarre sense of humor, too much idle time, and a few screws loose.

Misstrikes come in all sorts of variations - clipped, off-center, obverse missing, reverse missing, double obverse or reverse, two blanks stamped together, raw blanks, etc.

They can be worth anything from a couple of dollars to a hundred or, for the rarest, far more, depending on the rarity of the basic coin, type of misstrike (blanks and clipped are the least valuable, double obverse or reverse can be very valuable.

I wouldn't both appraising it now, but preserve its condition - don't polish it or use any chemical agent, but you can use a lintless paper (like for photo lenses) to gently wipe off any fingerprints, and mount it in a standard plastic or paper/plastic coin mount to keep it from deteriorating.

Is it one of the current year states? or an earlier year? It will be more valuable than a regular quarter with similar error, because there are less of each states quarter, and a fair number of those will be pulled out of circulation by people randomly collecting some from each state.

Wait a few years, and then start looking on Ebay. It's probably worth at least $25 in pristine condition, maybe more.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
...and look for?

Micro scratch marks, you ninny!

When a coin is struck, it is hit with such pressure that its surface turns molten for a second, and the molten metal flows up into the mold, forming the face (or tail) of the coin. If my blank side was formed that way, there wouldn't be any scratch marks.

But if some con artist shaved one side of my quarter to make it appear to be a more valuable "misstrike," then there should be signs of his tampering.

[Lancer]

Am I fabulously wealthy?

Well, you're a hero, does that count?

[Japher]

Kansas has a stupid buffalo on that would be easy to scratch off

Maybe Wyoming decided not to put anything on that side... since they have nothing

[Lancer]

They have Cody!