OK Quarter Question

[Tom Chad]

Lately I have been searching through new rolls of OK quarters and have found some interesting coins, (some small die cracks and one partial collar strike) enjoyable stuff. My question is about the coins pictured below with a raised area behind Washington’s ear. The area is triangular and a little difficult for me to photograph in the right light even though it can be recognized with the naked eye.
On these coins with the raised area there is no hair or definition in the ear and an area directly above the ear has little to no definition. Also, the part in the hair which runs from the ear to the south east is less defined.
I am a beginner and I hesitate to post this because it’s probably something so common and I’ve been missing the info on it. It has been bugging me though, I know it’s not a strike through grease or any other substance because I have found it on 36 coins out of 6 rolls. I think it is die deterioration but, it seems to be consistently alike in all 36 coins. The raised triangular is well defined. So, what may have caused these coins to be struck this way and is it a common trait for that area of a Quarter.

The fist picture is of a normal strike.

Thank you for any input.

TOM

http://board.conecaonline.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=683&stc=1&d=1208150415

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http://board.conecaonline.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=684&stc=1&d=1208150635

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http://board.conecaonline.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=685&stc=1&d=1208150907

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http://board.conecaonline.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=686&stc=1&d=1208151096

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http://board.conecaonline.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=687&stc=1&d=1208151271

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[diamond]

I'm wondering if it is a clash mark. We'd need someone to do an overlay to explore that possibility. Light clash marks that involve only the field portion of the die will appear raised on a coin.

[russellhome]

I did a quick overlay -- and that mark extending under and right of the ear would appear to be the result of a clash -- the two dies slammed together without a planchet (coin) to strike, each die leaving a portion of its design on the opposite die. The inner ear & nearby hair (or actually the low spots between the features) would have slammed into the field on the reverse die - so the clash might be responsible for the lack of detail you noted.



Of the many "State Quarter" clashes that I've seen, on most of them you should also be able to see some evidence of the clash on the reverse. It would appear in the field at the center - just under the bird. I have an example of a bold 2003 Maine quarter clash that shows the inverted ear, bits of hair and jaw-line under the ear very clearly...



And here are a couple of different 2005 MN 25c Clashes -- both showing evidence on the obverse and reverse...







The State Quarter program has made things interesting as far as clashes are concerned. Each year, there is a new design and therefore a new clash design to figure out. I know they don't command much of a premium - but I find them interesting and have a nice little die clash collection started - mostly of State Quarters.

[Tom Chad]

Thanks for the great info Mr. Diamond and RussellHome, also great overlay. It's definitely a learning process for me I hadn't considered a clash. After finishing the last 3 rolls, I have about 40 of them now. Glad to know that they are slightly collectable, I had figured that they were at least worth 25 cents each If you would like to add to your collections I would gladly send you each a couple each for your efforts, my complements.
PM me with your info if you like.

Tom