2008-D Hawaii Quarter is Damaged Goods

I received this 2008-D Hawaii quarter in a normal machine-wrapped roll of quarters from my local credit union probably in late January 2020. It was in the middle of the roll along with 39 other quarters.

At first, I thought it was your typical “someone has abused this” quarter as we all see.On closer inspection, I am not sure what is going on with this piece and how the damage occurred. This quarter shows the typical type of normal circulation damage seen on coins all the time with light scratches and other evidence of passing from hand to hand several times, although it is not severely worn down from mint state. The cupping (for lack of a better adjective) damage seen in four places along the rim seems to be inflicted from the piece having been stuck in a piece of machinery and subjected to enough direct force to inflict the edge damage without seriously bending the rest of the piece.

Also unusual is receiving a “D” 50 states quarter in normal circulation channels here in central Massachusetts.

Do the mechanical counting and sorting machines that modern coinage goes through regularly by the usual coin handling devices and companies (Coinstar, Guarda, etc.) have the potential to inflict this type and degree of damage?

I would appreciate any knowledgeable help in identifying how this piece ended up with this damage.

James Evans
Leominster, Mass.

Some of the best finds occur when even an experienced dealer doesn’t know what he has. In the mid-1990s I purchased at a local coin shop a series 1902 $10 national from the Farmers National Bank of Allerton, Iowa. The price was $38. I was only 12 at the time but figured that the bank note was worth more than $38. As it turns out, the note is definitely rare. Not one note from Farmers National of Allerton has been offered at auction in 20 years. The value of my note is probably in the range of one to two thousand dollars.

Sean Peters
Streator, Ill.

I started collecting in 1971 at the eager age of eight. My big break soon came when I found a small bank bag filled with rolls of coins stuffed in the back of a kitchen drawer. I told Mom about this find and she said she forgot to bring those to the bank back in 1964, but she would go through them with me after dinner.

An exciting search ensued that night and the result for me was starter sets of Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Buffalo and Jefferson nickels, and old Lincoln cents. I was also allowed to keep all the duplicate pennies older than 1940, the steel cents, the shiny wheat backs, and the nickels. This was ordinary 1964 change. There were no rare or semi-key dates but three pennies stood out: a 1929 with no backside rim and the motto and wheat ears mostly absent; a 1934 with raised crisscrossed strands on the front; and a 1936 with extra loops in the date.The “Redbook” didn’t list anything special for those dates, so into the wheat back bucket they went and the story paused...until 2020.

While I was looking around the PCGS site, I saw the listing for a 1936 doubled die cent and, out of curiosity, clicked on the code number for a look. Up comes this beautiful picture! With my memory jogged and equipped with good lighting and magnification, I went through what’s now a heavy wheat back accumulation and found my three old acquaintances.The 1929 and 1934 are probably collectable minting varieties from the blanking process, and the 1936 is a perfect match with the doubled die variety 2.

The 1972 doubled die was mainstream news back then and I didn’t find one. The 1936 doubled die was neither illustrated nor listed in the hobby’s principal reference and I noticed mine anyway. It helps to have the enthusiasm and eyesight of an eight-year-old.

Arthur Ludwig
Address Withheld