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1970-S 25C Washington Quarter -- Overstruck on an 1898 Five Dollar -- PR66 NGC....
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Sold on Jan 12, 2023 for:
$93,000.00
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Description
1970-S Quarter, PR66
Overstruck on an 1898 Half Eagle
1970-S 25C Washington Quarter -- Overstruck on an 1898 Five
Dollar -- PR66 NGC. 8.3 grams. This is a spectacular error. A
struck 1898 five dollar was used as a planchet and then overstruck
with proof 1970-S quarter dies. Parts of the 1898 half eagle are
faintly visible on each side with the date (1898) seen below the
wreath on the reverse.Proof planchets are hand-fed into the press prior to striking. Each proof coin is (allegedly) individually examined prior to shipment. It is rare to locate any proof coin with even a minor error, such as an off-center, double struck, a broadstrike, and off-metal strikes. Obviously, such proof coin errors are eagerly sought by collectors.
We do not know of a similar off-metal proof coin error. However, a 1913 Buffalo nickel that was struck on a five dollar Indian planchet has recently been reported as sold for $400,000. There are six Indian Head cents that were struck in quarter eagle planchets, and these are highly valued also. But the proofing process places this off-metal error in a special category. The only comparable proof we remember was featured in Walter Breen's Proof Encyclopedia, also a 1970-S quarter, but struck on a 1900 quarter. We have never seen that piece in person, but it was found in a proof set and sold by New England Rare Coin Auctions.
What makes this coin physically possible to produce is the relative closeness in diameter of each denomination. Quarters are 24.3 mm in diameter, and half eagles are 21.6 mm. Meaning the struck half eagle coin will not be quite large enough to be a perfect fit as a planchet; however, it is close and the result will be what we see on this piece, incomplete definition around the borders. So, the struck half eagle did not have enough metal to fully fill the definition in the quarter dies, resulting in a lack of details on the struck quarter.
This is not an obvious error. A strong magnifier and patience are required to see the undertype. But it is rewarding. The resulting overstrike displays unusually bright gold surfaces. A curious, square-shaped bit of debris is located just to the right of the E in WE, and serves to further identify the piece. It will definitely be interesting to see what this most-curious overstrike realizes.
Auction Info
2023 January 11 - 15 FUN US Coins Signature® Auction #1356 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
January, 2023
11th-15th
Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 64
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 4,432
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