new member Mike

[Mhennessey11]

Hello...My name is Mike and I have been collecting coins and baseball cards for over 60 years...I heard about CONECA and decided to become a paying member...My member number is N-8241...I look forward to a great relationship with the origination and will do my best to contribute in all ways...

I currently have a question about a current search I made...The material consists of multiple examples from a sealed $1,000 Federal Reserve bag of 1999-P quarters. While sorting approximately 4,000 coins, I identified a recurring die gouge adjacent to the mint mark area on the obverse, appearing consistently in the same location and progressing through multiple die states.

I have documented the progression as:
• Early Die State (EDS)
• Middle Die State (MDS)
• Late Die State (LDS-1)
• Late Die State (LDS-2)

In addition, I found several associated struck-through grease examples from the same source, showing weakening and loss of detail around “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and the central obverse field.

All coins are uncleaned and remain raw.

I am seeking confirmation of classification as a legitimate mint error (die gouge / die damage with progressive die states, and struck-through grease), and guidance on whether this material is suitable for further documentation or attribution.

With all of that said, I am not sure how to proceed...I have images of all sample coins...What would be my next step....

Thank you for the opportunity to belong and for all your help...Mike

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[MintErrors]

Welcome aboard.

You mention looking through 4000 coins, but whats the rough count on the number that have the die gouge and the number that have the strike through ?

In my opinion, the US Mint typically use a number of presses to keep up with the demand of coinage across the United States. So if the mint uses 8 to 12 machines, all of those are headed down chutes, generally mixed together and eventually sent to bagging. The average bag might contain coins from 5 or so of those machines.

The die gouge appears to be minor. People love drama, the more the better. Now with the other condition potentially a strike through, that may gain collectors interest. Since 2002, the U S Mint have stepped up their qulity assurance and controls and there has been a drought when it comes to error coins escaping the mint.

The question for you is, are you planning on holding onto these or eventually selling these? The CONECA staff members frown on us talking prices, so let approach this subject in a different manner.

Again this depends on the amount of coins affected, especially the strike throughs. I personally dont see the die gouge as a significant issue to grab the collectors interest.

If you are planning to encapsulate these, its a costly proces you might be able to get a decent discount if you were to encapsulate (slab) over 100 coins or more with the same condition. Some third party grading services have different qualifying amounts.

Now, if these are being sold, you would have to consider the average price of the coins being sent in and eventually sent back to you. Selling prices on these will
Fluctuate each day and where they are sold. Are they significantly worth more than the fees to slab them ? Return on investment is key.

As for documentation of these, being blunt, I dont know if many would care too much about the info. But, there is a place to ask an expert. I suggest going over to https://error-ref.com and leave a message via the contact form. Hopefully, Mike D. Will email back. Give him as much info as you can, in relative short bullet style format. After he writes back, you can attach photos. If sequence is important, ensure the photos are numbered that way. Mike is very knowledgeable in the field and I trust his opinion 100%. See what he thinks of all this research.


Years ago i opened a mint sealed 1960D Lincoln Cent bag. I was looking for RPMs and doubled dies. I then found over 60 struck through grease examples. Since they were out of the same bag, i decided to slab 40 of the best. I personally sold about 10 of them but put out ones that were a lighter in damage and kept 40 in ngc boxes in storage. I am holding out for a considerable offer for 20 of them in one sale. i am in no hurry to move them.

I personally did write up a long winded article about these coins. In 5 years, that article was read close to 220 views. Each seperate coin posted for sale had at least that many views.

At least you have a few avenues to choose from. There is a new trend of error collectors out there because of the newer cheaper microscopes available. People are getting back into collecting varieties and errors. Unfortunately the drought continues and your find, should you decide to eventually sell them, might be a profitable and rewarding experience. Be extremely careful on the amount sold at one time as it can plumment the amount each coin is worth.

[Mhennessey11]

Thank you for your response....of the 4000 - aprox 400 have the die gouge with different degrees of size...I have searched the net and cannot find this error listed anywhere...Do you know of any instances of this...Also is it better to keep them as a set showing the 3 or 4 degrees of the die change...Will CONECA show this as a known mint error...Regarding the stamp through, i have aprox 120...I also found a number of spitting horse's in the same bag.

I will e-mail Mike D as you suggested...Again, thank you for all your help if you need any additional information or images, just let me know...

[MintErrors]

In my opinion, under the main forum go to CONECA SERVICES. then go under the EXAMINATIONS forum. Post as much text and photo data that you can. Clear photos of the entire obverse and reverse plus the areas showing the issue. Take the time to give them as much info as you can. This way maybe on a single post you can get a answer right away. They are volunteers and who knows how many people they have to answer during all of this.

Make sure you tell them they came from the same bag and a rough guess how many of each you have. They may question the validity of the different die stages seen, since working dies for quarters can last about 325,000 strikes or sometimes a bit longer. Having multiple die stages occuring from one bag might be possible, but I think it may be the due to a semi weaker strike from what ever the strike through was. Its also important to know if that strike through is sunk into the coin or raised on the coin. When I attempt to zoom in on the area with my tablet, I cannot tell if it is raised or sunk into the coin.

Typically mint errors are not handled the same way varieties are done. Errors tend to be looked at as if each one is unique and typically its not duplicated. The error is typically a situation that occurs once in a brief period of time and its eventually cleared. Varieties on the other hand are issues to do with working die and are easily reproduced as long as that working die is in service. Those are the RPMs, doubled dies, over mint marks, overdate, repunched dates and others.

CONECA may call it a die gouge but it probably will not be given any other consideration.

The reference term for a die gouge should be easy to find. It may not be the exact coin type and denomination as yours, but the technical term should be.

https://www.error-ref.com/die-dent/

https://www.error-ref.com/die-gouges/

More here

https://www.error-ref.com/index-of-entries/