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PCGS Grades Wisconsin State Quarter Major Varieties
- January 21, 2005
A major variety of the 2004 Wisconsin State Quarter has been discovered -
the first major variety in the State Quarter series. It appears that some of
the corn plants on the new 2004 Wisconsin State Quarter got more water than
others. On some pieces, the ear of corn on the right side seems to have
sprouted an extra leaf. What's more, two distinct varieties of the "extra leaf"
coins have been observed. On one variety, the leaf tip points down, with the
entire leaf forming an arc. On the second variety, the leaf points upward to
around the 10 o'clock position of the rim on the other side. The so-called
"normal" die coins have no additional leaf.
Rob Weiss and Ben Weinstein of the Old Pueblo Coin Exchange in Tucson, AZ
first reported the varieties late last year. Thus far, the varieties have been
seen only on coins made at the Denver mint. Weiss reported that of 220 pieces
examined, three coins showed the extra leaf in the high, or up position, and
nine showed the leaf in the low, or down position. Of course, having been only
recently discovered, it is far too early to make any definitive statements
regarding rarity. But it is safe to assume that nice examples of either variety
will carry a premium. Whether the varieties will turn up on Philadelphia or San
Francisco coins also remains to be seen.
PCGS President and Founder David Hall stated, "This is a very important
discovery. The "extra leaf" Wisconsin quarters are the first major variety for
the Statehood quarters. And they are very obvious varieties that are easily
discernable to the naked eye…no microscope or imagination are necessary. Quite
a few of the extra leaf coins turned up at the recent FUN show in Florida and
our friend Dave Bowers submitted the first three coins we have received."
While an official statement from the Mint regarding the design anomalies
has not yet been made, speculation thus far that the marks are tool gouges in
the die leaves one wondering. On the low position variety, the "die gouge" is
particularly large, shaped like a leaf, and in the exact position where one
would expect an additional leaf to be. Even the high position variety, the
gouge is suspiciously "leaf like," albeit less so than the other variety.
PCGS is now recognizing and certifying all three varieties of the 2004-D
Quarter. The normal dies piece has been assigned PCGS #14033, the extra leaf in
the low position is #814033 and the extra leaf high position is #914033.
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