I just found a 2011 Glacier Quarter, my first one, with an obvious error. There is no "L" in Liberty. I have compared it to other coins from the states collection, checked the edging, the surface around where the "L" should be, and there is no evidence of any type of tampering, the "I" also looks weak. When compared to quarters from even 2000, the coin looks like it was struck weakly. Washington's hair is is poorly defined, there is an overall lack of depth and the feel of the coin is somewhat smooth when compared to others, the back of the coin also seems to lack detail that you would expect from a newly released coin. So what do I do besides use this forum to get the word out that there may be more of these, or is this such an oddity, that it may be one of a kind? Thanks for any input
It is almost certainly a grease filled die. The L would have definitely have been on the original model so it would have been on the master hub. Since all the dies came from that master hub all the dies would have had the L. If the L was in the die, but not on the coin, it has to be a grease filled die. The only other reason for the L missing would be if it broke off a working hub. But a broken hub and the resulting dies would have been quickly condemned. There have been very few examples of hub breaks since the 19th century. Even back then I can't recall an entire letter breaking off a hub.
SO, I will try to post a quality pic later today, does the "grease filled die" also explain the overall lack of detail in the coin? Also, does this coin have any worth as an error coin?
Yes, it does explain the lack of detail, when too much grease gets in the die, it fills up the space, making the strike softer when the die does not fully impact the coin. You could probably get maybe a dollar on eBay for the coin.
