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I pose this questions to Dr. Wiles. I recently purchased your three attribution and pricing guides on Washington quarters, but am unable to find anything about designer initials or the lack of them. As I have several Washingtons with no or faint initials, is this of any interest to us? I appreciate would your comments.
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Weak or non existent designers initials are normal caused by two actions; die abrading and / or a clogged die. A excellent example of the two conditions can be related to when comparing the 1922-D Lincoln cent without the mint mark. The first, which was caused by die abrading, left no "D" and of the three examples, commands the highest price. The other two examples were caused by a clogged die where grease/dirt filled or partial filled the "D" leaving varying degrees of that mint mark.
This can also be said for the disappearance of the V. D. B. on the lower part of Lincoln's bust and also the "FG" on the reverse of the Lincoln Memorial cent. Both conditions are caused by the same factors.
As far as worth, there does seem to be some collectibilty to this type anomaly.
BJ NeffMember of: ANA, CCC, CONECA, Fly-in-club, FUN, NLG & T.E.V.E.C. -
Thanks BJ for the informative reply. I was furthur wondering if these can become a die marker for error varieties, or if they are not used for this.Comment
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A clogged die is random in nature and can happen during any part of a dies life, so this would not be a reliable die marker. However, an abraded design element could be used as a die marker. Of course, one has to determine which condition one is working with.
BJ NeffMember of: ANA, CCC, CONECA, Fly-in-club, FUN, NLG & T.E.V.E.C.Comment
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