Description: The more money you handle the sharper your senses become, although you do not always know the extent you do realize something is not quite right.Over the course of the past 50 plus years of retail, if I found a coin (mostly quarters) with any noteworthy or unusual appearance, I'd set it aside for future inspection but never found the time to do it. Now that there is robust interest in these types of things I realize I have thousands and thousands to sort. Let's get it underway. To better understand what make this coin so rare, first you must understand the process of making coins. The US Mint in Philadelphia makes about 3 million quarters a day that go through a multi-step process to become coins:1. DesignArtists and engravers create the design using computer-aided design (CAD) software. The approved design is then transferred to a master die made of hardened steel.2. BlanksLarge rolls of nickel-plated copper are fed into a blanking machine that punches out quarter-sized blanks. The blanks are then heated to soften them and washed.3. QuenchThe blanks are dropped into a quench tank filled with a mixture of water, citric acid powder, and lubricants to lower their temperature and prevent sticking.4. RimmingThe blanks are passed through a machine that squeezes the sides up to form a rim.5. CoiningThe blanks are stamped with the coin's design and inscriptions using the master die and working dies created from it.6. InspectionA press operator uses a magnifying glass to check each batch of coins, and they are then run through a coin sizer to remove any that are misshapen or dented.7. Counting and baggingAn automatic counting machine drops the coins into canvas bags, which are then sewn shut, loaded onto pallets, and stored in vaults. From there, the coins are shipped to Federal Reserve Banks and eventually to local banks. Recently I was thinking so many error coins are appearing on eBay because people were wishing for a quick buck and seeing things with $$$ in their eyes. While that will always be true to some extent eventually the marketplace will calm down and true quality and rarity will once again prevail. Also, you must understand the US has always minted billions of coins annually and with the variety of modern specialty designs some coins have runs as low as 35 million so even if 1,000 errors exist that is still a very small percentage. Lotteries and trading card manufacturers can set their odds because they create "the prizes" within a closed information pool, theyknow how many they've produced, errors are flukes and unpredictable. However, math theories can be applied to calculate probabilitiesof a second coin existing with exact or similar errors. Here is a 2000 P VIRGINIA State error quarter, very hard to show texture in a photo but this quarter has a sharp rim, you do not cut but feelscratching while it is handled, George has the outline of a bird on his face, for alliteration purposes I call it a chicken on his cheek, the reverse has many errors, the semicircular scrape has caused major distortion in the JAMESTOWN 1607-2007, die chips in the 2000, broken letter Eand filled in P in E PLURIBUS. Free US shipping, international bidders are at the mercy of eBay's set policies I can do nothing about.
Price: 50 USD
Location: Portland, Maine
End Time: 2025-01-30T04:07:21.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Circulated/Uncirculated: Circulated
Coin: Washington Quarter
Year: 2008
Features: Error
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Certification: Uncertified
