Hey all! I have come across a 1983 quarter that appears to be gold plated or of similar colored metal. Interestingly, "1789" and "1989" are imprinted on either side of Washington. I'm assuming this quarter was part of some collectable deal at one point. Please refer back with any info! Thanks, Lex
All of that is basically considered damage by numismatists. After it left the mint, somebody gold plated it and stamped '1789' and '1989' on the coin. The technical term for this is "counterstamp" and although some people collect these, it all depends on individual preference. Your coin is worth only 25 cents but it's still a pretty interesting piece and it's good that you noticed it and asked.
Here are some older examples that you can compare yours to: They're all basically made through the same process
No question... This would have been a part of a curio collectable designed to honor the 200th anniversary of Washington's inauguration as president. That answers the significance of the counter stamped dates. And likely gold plated to add interest to the piece.
I agree, but as the old (Hannum/Bessimer) saying goes: there's a sucker born every minute. Unfortunately there is much in this hobby designed simply to remove money from the pockets of the uninitiated. While I cannot say for certain if your coin is an example of this, it's probably a safe bet.
I clearly remember as a young coin struck kid... My mother had purchased a Lincoln cent with JFK's portrait stamped in it with some odd piece of literature attached addressing odd facts about Lincoln's/JFK's deaths. Still have the thing. I can imagine my mother spending several bucks on this piece thinking she was presenting me with an awesome coin for my budding collection.
How else are you going to take run-of-the-mill quarters and sell them for a few dollars each to magazine and newspaper readers -- sorry, that's my inner grandpa, I meant "shopping channel watchers and eBay shoppers"? You have to be indoctrinated into coin collecting for a bit before you start thinking that "original surfaces" on a coin are best, and "enhancement" or "decoration" are just damaging the coin. If you're a newcomer, why wouldn't an ordinary quarter with 24K GOLD LAYERING be worth more than a plain, run-of-the-mill quarter? As long as there's a steady supply of newcomers, someone will be happy to slam lots of quarters with a ten-dollar punch, coat each one with a few cents worth of gold, and sell them for just $4.99 -- with another one FREE, that's TWO for just $4.99! * Shipping and handling extra. Welcome to CoinTalk!
Once you get on enough mailing lists you will see these quite often. The American Mint (no relationship to any U.S. government entity) Hamilton Mint, Littleton Coin Co., Mystic Stamp Co., (owned by Littleton) Things You Never Knew Existed (catalog Co.) Heartland America and many others still sell these to unsuspecting people who think they would have something valuable just because it has the word gold, platinum, silver or rhodium plating attached to it. It's long been a buyer beware situation. " A fool and their money...". These items will never be worth much more than face value in most cases. I will never tell anyone what to collect if they like something. But I will say stay away if you possibly can. It's money best spent on real collectible coins. On the other hand there are some really nice, older counter stamped coins that can be very interesting and valuable. Researching is your best guide. And coming here to ask, of course.
I found the same coin. gold plated quarter, only 1988, stamped with 1789 on one side and 1989 on the other. I googled a search and this site came up.
Yes, we are very thoroughly referenced on Google. Google just about anything coin related and you will usually find links to Cointalk fairly high in the search results.
The sad part of this is that '83 quarters in uncirculated condition are considered keys and commonly sell for more than this.
