Wisconsin Quarter Variation Discovered

According to CNN Headline News, a variation of the Wisconsin quarter was discovered. It has something to do with the corn on the reverse.

David

 

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Just heard about that too, apparently it has to do with an extra leaf in the design, if anyone can post a pic of both variations, i would be very appreciative.

 

Extra leaf

Okie Dok.. Here is a picture of the 2 reverses with the extra leaf appearing from a die gouge..

 

From which mint did this come?

 

Published: 01.11.2005

2-bit mystery so far is unique to Tucson
By Inger Sandal
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Coin collectors are starting to see green over unusual markings that look like extra corn leaves on some of the new Wisconsin quarters circulating around Tucson.

So far the extra "leaves" - and why they've been reported only in Tucson - remain a mystery.

"It's hard to say what the value of these things will be," said Rob Weiss, who owns Old Pueblo Coin, 4420 E. Speedway. "Just to discover two varieties like this - it is just so exciting. It is something that really is a major thing in the coin industry."

The Wisconsin quarter, which started circulating last month, has the nation's first president, George Washington, on the front and a state design on back that includes a cow and an ear of corn.

"What we discovered was on a very small percentage of these Wisconsin quarters there are two (varieties) that contain extra leaves," Weiss said. "One variety has an extra leaf that goes up," he said, and a second has a "leaf" that curves down. "It is as clear and crisp and sharp as can be. These are not depressions on the coin. These are raised leaves.

"To find one of the varieties would have been incredible. The fact that there are two completely different varieties that we discovered is completely mind-boggling," Weiss said.

Weiss' shop made the discovery more than a week ago, and as of Monday it was still waiting for an explanation from the U.S. Mint.

"It's not supposed to have happened. It's very exciting in coin circles," he said. "According to the mint, there's no other report of these varieties turning up in any other part of the country."

A U.S. Mint spokesman in Washington, D.C., did not return a call seeking comment.

Weiss' discovery made the cover of the current Coin World, which calls itself the world's largest and most widely read publication for coin hobbyists. The article raised the idea that tool gouges into two separate dies were the most likely culprit, but it also appealed to the mint for more information.

"This is pretty cool stuff for the collectors," Weiss said.

State quarters are produced in the order that the states joined the Union. They are collected by an estimated 130 million Americans. Wisconsin was the last of five states released in 2004; Arizona's state quarter is slated for release in 2008.

Weiss ordered 100 rolls of the Wisconsin quarter from the Denver Mint and 100 rolls from the Philadelphia Mint. Each mint produced more than 225 million Wisconsin quarters, local coin experts said.

"We actually sold quite a few Wisconsin quarters before we discovered them," Weiss said, referring to the marks that appear on a fraction of the coins from Denver. "It was way exciting. The first thing we did, we went through all the rolls."

The eventual value will depend in part on how many of the coins turn up, but Weiss already has sold a set of three - a regular quarter and each of the varieties (a face value of 75 cents) - for nearly $200.

Weiss suggested Tucsonans examine their pocket change. "If people know what to look for, by all means they can find these things out here," Weiss said. "This is an opportunity for people to start looking at their coins."

Bret Palser of Eagle Eye Rare Coins, 1760 E. River Road, agreed. "If you were to go to the bank and search through rolls of quarters, you could find them still," he said.

But they will likely be exceedingly rare in other parts of the country, he said, particularly in the Eastern states served by the Philadelphia Mint. Pal-ser is leaving for a show in Florida on Wednesday and said he already has a standing offer for $100 a set.

Although it's still unknown whether the marks were intentional or a simple mistake, Palser sides with intentional leaves - particularly with the low leaf that curves down. Regardless, he said, "since these look so much like little extra leaves and they are very easy to see with the naked eye, they are going to be a highly collected variety."

There are a myriad of errors that can happen at a mint, where numerous presses churn out the same coins at the same time. Most are striking errors, such as a press getting jammed, and such coins rarely see public circulation, he said.

But the variations in the Wisconsin quarter seem to have happened in the die, and a single die can strike around 40,000 coins before it starts to deteriorate, Palser said. Under that scenario, only a fraction of the quarters would have the variations.

"The simple fact is these are out here and they are going to be very hot," Palser said.

 

So far all I see on eBay have come from the Denver Mint... NGC even has a new 3 slot slab design for them...

 

thank you very much mark, i would never have seen this on my own

 

You are welcome... Happy Collecting...

 

Well I for one will not be looking for one of these--Sooner or later it will come out like the 2004 DD cent did that it was a bit of imagination...

Speedy

 

I would hold off for a little while if you are planning to buy any and watch this market closely. More have showed up, I think in Texas and if even more continue to appear we all know what the price will do. I have also read where they are favoring the notion that it was done intenionally by a mint worker. If true, could this also affect the future value? I have learned by experience not to jump at the gun when a new discovery or rarity appears.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41098&item=3956165361&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41098&item=3956171175&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41098&item=3956171295&rd=1

wow this is spreading very fast! you can find more links in eBay I didn't thought there were that much when I linked the 1st one!

 

Checked my one Wisconsin quarter and was not the 'variety'. I live in AZ too, so my expectations were high. I'll keep checking my change though with prices like these going..geez...

 

You're right GD...it might be rare...if you were collecting US coins would you be looking for this variety?
Just a question...you don't have to tell me

Speedy

 

Hi Speedy... If you don't want to collect them and you find some... I'll give ya $5.00 each!! LOL... No, Just kidding guy, You'd better hang onto it or list it on eBay for a quick couple of hundred dollars maybe even more... They are fetching a very hefty price right now everywhere you look...It's like GD said..

"As for what happens next week or next month - well my crystal ball is on the fritz right now"

 

all i can say is that this rush is insane. i also live in tucson and have only gotten 3 wisconsin quarters in change, none of which have the extra leaf. i stopped by several banks about two weeks ago and they were sold out of the quarters a month ago.

i understand that they are turning up in san antonio also. wonder how many are actually out there now.

 

Well what I meant was...If I see one I'll keep it but I'm not going out there buying all of the WI quarters I can find, to see if I can find one variety...I'm not going to buy one off of e-bay for $1000+ either.

$5 bucks huh?? I got $4 for a blank quarter
Speedy

 

Flawed WI quarter worth up to $600

(AP) - Some Wisconsin quarters issued last year are turning out to be worth considerably more than 25 cents.

Coin collectors say quarters with two variations in the design of a cornstalk on the back of the coin have been spotted in Tucson, Ariz., and San Antonio.

Rick Snow, who owns Eagle Eye Rare Coins Inc. in Tucson, said he started paying $50 each for the quarters when he learned of them. "As soon as word got out about that, the prices escalated," Snow said.

On Monday, he was offering a set of three Wisconsin quarters - the normal one, one with a leaf marking pointed up and a third with the marking pointed down - for as much as $1,099. Individual coins with the variations were selling for $500 to $600, depending on condition, he said.

The U.S. Mint, which produced 453 million Wisconsin quarters for its state coin series, is trying to determine how the differences came about.

"Throughout history, there have been some instances of variations - very, very rare instances," said U.S. Mint spokesman Mike White. "If there is any kind of situation like this, we just take a very close look at the process and all the different steps."

http://www.wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=14292&template=breakout_state.html

 

I agree with you there Speedy... I would rather go to the casino instead of buying bag after bag or roll after roll of these quarters. It's a gamble either way... I might just find one in my favorite quarter slot machine!! Ya just never can tell!!! Happy Collecting

 

I think the price on these is going to skyrocket. Whatever the cause of the extra leaf, it's certainly something that a lot of people are going to want.

What's that old adage about supply and demand?