Distinguishing Genuine Mint Errors from Damage on the Bessie Coleman Quarter

The Bessie Coleman quarter coin honoring Bessie Coleman representing the first African American female pilot belongs to the American Women Quarters Program. 

Featuring a detailed reverse design showing a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" airplane and energetic lines, these quarters often show production mistakes or common wear appearing like rare errors to new collectors.

Production Cycle Concepts

Identifying a real error requires knowing the specific way a mint strikes coins. The process includes preparing metal blanks, creating working dies, and finishing with a press strike. Real errors happen only during the contact between the die and the blank or during the metal preparation inside the mint.

Post-mint damage refers to any physical change happening to the coin after leaving the striking press. This includes hits from other coins in bags, contact with harsh chemicals, friction in pockets, or intentional mechanical changes.

Types of Genuine Mint Errors

Authentic errors fall into categories based on when they appear during production. These specific types often occur on the Bessie Coleman quarter:

• Die Crack. Hardened steel dies sometimes crack under high pressure during the striking process. Metal from the blank flows into this crack when the press hits it. Appearing as a raised and messy line sitting above the main design, these cracks often show up on the pilot's helmet or along the airplane wings on Bessie Coleman coins.

• Die Chip. Small pieces of the design on the die occasionally break off. Creating a raised bump or a shapeless metal spot on the coin, this error frequently appears in the letters or on small airplane parts.

• Off-Center Strike. The metal blank sometimes enters the striking area incorrectly. Resulting in a missing part of the design, the coin takes an unround shape or shows a blank crescent along the edge.

• Double Strike. A coin staying in the press after the first hit receives a second strike. This action creates a look showing two designs overlapping on the same surface.

• Die Clash. The dies hit each other when the press works without a blank inside. Part of the obverse design leaves a mark on the reverse die and the opposite happens too. Creating ghost-like shapes of Washington's portrait on the airplane side, these marks appear on coins struck later.

Signs of Post-Mint Damage

Damage happening after the minting process always shows a loss of metal volume. Looking like a dent, scratch, or hole going into the coin, these marks almost always represent damage found in circulation.

• Bag Marks. These occur when coins hit each other inside bank bags or counting machines. Appearing as random dents having rough edges, these marks do not increase value.

• Chemical Action. Cleaning a coin with acids or leaving it in the ground for a long time changes the surface texture. Turning the metal porous, dull, or changing the color to dark brown or black, these changes never count as mint errors.

• Flattening. Heavy objects hitting the coin make it wider while turning the design flat and blurry. Real "broadstrike" errors look different because they keep the sharp edges of the letters.

• Machine Scratches. Often found on quarters passing through vending machines, these appear as thin and perfectly straight circular lines left by the machine's gripping parts.

Bessie Coleman Design Features

Studying this coin requires looking at specific areas where errors happen more often. The reverse design contains many small details in the center part.

• Propeller Lines. The thin nature of these elements on the die leads to frequent die chips. Seeing an extra piece of metal between the blades suggests a possible mint error.

• "6.15.1921" Text. Representing the date Coleman received her pilot's license, these numbers are very small. Clogged dies in this area lead to a "grease strike" making the numbers look blurry or missing.

• "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" Text. The outer ring often shows "shatter" die cracks running from the edge toward the letters.

Performing the Inspection

Proper evaluation requires using the best coin identifier app or a magnifying glass having 10x to 30x power. Human eyes alone lack the ability for determining the nature of damage edges.

Look at the coin holding it at a sharp angle to the light. This technique allows seeing if the mark is raised or sunken.

Compare the suspicious coin with a normal one from the same year. An extra element looking like part of the design but having an irregular shape suggests a die chip.

Check the weight. Real mint errors rarely change the standard weight of 5.67 grams. Finding a significantly lighter coin indicates chemical cleaning or mechanical grinding.

Common Misconceptions

Collectors often mistake surface "bubbles" for errors. Happening on modern U.S. quarters, this result comes from corrosion of the internal copper core. Quarters consist of layers having a copper-nickel jacket and a copper center.

Moisture entering through tiny cracks makes the copper oxidize, expand, and lift the nickel layer while forming bubbles. This condition adds no value to the coin.

People also confuse "Double Die" errors with common "Machine Doubling." Machine doubling happens when the die vibrates or moves slightly during the strike.

Creating a flat and step-like look on the letters, this event does not count as a collectible error. Real doubled dies exist in the die design itself appearing as two clear images having the same height.

Step-by-Step Action Plan

Finding a Bessie Coleman quarter looking different from the standard requires following these steps.

• Clean the coin using a soft cloth without chemicals for removing dirt mimicking errors.

• Determine the change type being either added metal or removed metal.

• Check for repeats. Looking at databases of known errors for this series inside a free coin scanner helps. Finding a similar die crack reported by other collectors increases the chance of it being real.

• Look for tool marks. Deep parallel scratches usually indicate someone holding the coin with pliers or a vice.

Practicing the separation of factory errors from physical wear takes time. Following the main rule of inspection, any mark impossible for explaining through the work of a coin press means the change happened after leaving the mint.