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Errors, mechanical and human, mangle 2009-S Proof quarter
Coin World, September 21, 2009 - By Andrew Perala, Coin World Staff

A Proof 2009-S Puerto Rico silver quarter dollar has an unusual and deep crater, or indent, replacing about one third of the coin's reverse design.

James Speakman, who works for the World Reserve Monetary Exchange based in Canton, Ohio, sent in the Proof 2009-S Puerto Rico silver quarter dollar.

On the coin, most of the Atlantic Ocean, nearly all of the island's symbolic hibiscus flower and part of El Morro castle are missing from the coin's reverse design, obliterated by a football-shaped indent.

The letters TATES OF A from the obverse legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA can be clearly seen running upside-down and backward along the uneven bottom of the football-shaped hole.

The letters are wildly distorted, and stretch twice as high as the letters of the obverse legend.

Unlike the letters of the obverse legend, which are raised above the surface, the letters TATES OF A in the indent are incuse and seen as though reflected in a mirror.

These are key clues that the coin displays a Mint error not often seen on circulating coins and rarely seen on Proof coins, which supposedly are eyeballed more closely for production problems.

Such Mint error types are call brockages. In this case, the error is a partial brockage. But more is going on as well.

A brockage occurs when a previously struck coin remains behind in the coining chamber. The coin, with its devices already struck, blocks part or all of the die from striking the next fresh planchet.

When this blockage occurs, the coin's devices then act like a die. The result is a transfer of design from the first, struck coin to the newly struck coin, with one crucial difference.

On a die, letters in a legend are incuse to create raised letters on the coin. With raised letters on the coin then striking another planchet, the resultant letters are not raised, but incuse. And they are backward, or "mirrored."

According to error expert and dealer Fred Weinberg, this coin shows "a partial brockage, made from a (probably) elliptical struck fragment that was struck, and then struck again into this host coin, leaving an incused brockage impression from the elliptical fragment."

The placement of the letters in the indent's undulating bottom do not match precisely their opposite location on the obverse. Instead they are rotated slightly counterclockwise, and are shifted inward about 3 millimeters.

This inward shift could be expected from a fragment remaining in the coining chamber for more than one successive coin striking.

Proof coins are struck twice to bring out the greatest detail. They are also positioned horizontally when struck in a Proof coin press. The fragment remained in the Proof coining chamber for more than one successive Proof planchet strike, said Mike Diamond, error columnists for Coin World's WorldWide Coins magazine and president of the Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America.

The fragment likely was created during the blanking process, with only a fragment of a complete coin blank punched out; an elliptical clip error. This fragment then entered the coining chamber.

The reeding marks along one edge of the elliptical brockage are another clue for error detectives.

Here's a possible scenario.

After entering the coining chamber, the unstruck fragment settles against the collar, receives two blows from the Proof press, and remains against in the chamber. Another Proof planchet enters the chamber on top of the struck fragment, gets struck twice and is ejected.

But the fragment remains behind. Despite the additional hammering, the fragment is still firmly seated on the anvil die and still hugging the collar. But the struck fragment's letters are now mildly distorted.

The fragment then dislodges from the anvil die, as the struck coin is ejected and a new planchet is introduced into the coining chamber, rotates slightly and hops inward.

Another Proof planchet is fed into the chamber and coined with two blows.

The letters of the fragment become greatly distorted during the striking of the second full Proof planchet; coin metal id far softer than a die's tempered steel.

Details of the retained struck fragment creating the brockage error become more smeared with each successive strike.

If the fragment moved between the two strikes needed to coin a new Proof, the new Proof coin would show a double brockage, Diamond said.

World Reserve Monetary Exchange is the largest private distributor of coins and currency outside the Federal Reserve. World Reserve Monetary Exchange is based in Canton, OH and serves collectors and investors worldwide.