Missing Clad 1986 Washington Copper Quarter

catyron

Jr. Member
Apr 15, 2019
44
87
Forestville, California
Detector(s) used
Old Maps, Dowsing, Borrowed detecting equipment from friends.
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
I found this in today in my shop. It is a 1986 D Washington Quarter missing the clad on both sides, resulting in a copper quarter.

1986-D-Missing-Clad-Washington-Quarter-Rim-Error.jpg

It also has a mint defect -- a nick taken out on the edge of the obverse at upper left. It is not a "worn" place but a gash made by a machine, a weird cut into the rim. The whole edge of the rim goes inward and even turns a little corner at each side of the cut. The reverse does not have this defect.

It did not come in change, oddly enough. We have a little magic shop, and we have a sort of "good luck altar" where people put foreign coins, Mardi Gras Doubloons, and lots of pennies -- like a wishing well.

It was Easter today and all the staff but one woman was off. I'm Jewish, so i work on Christian holidays. To my surprise, we had a run of customers all day long. By late afternoon, i realized that i was out of pennies in the till -- but it was Easter Sunday, so i could not go to the bank for more. I decided to raid the "good luck altar," so i scooped up a half a handful of coins, threw the foreigns and Mardi Gras Doubloons, and anything silver-looking back on the altar, walked over to the till to check the pennies for early dates, and there it was -- a freaking copper quarter!

I had never seen one before and did not know they existed, but the moment i saw it, i knew what it had to be.

I looked on eBay and saw a few of these missing clad Washington Quarters for sale at values from about $100.00 to about $300.00 for comparable years. (The missing clad State Quarters go for much more, presumably because of the difficulty of making up a complete set of unclad ones.)

I apologize for the quality of the photos -- i'm just using my phone.

Well, anyway, this qualifies as my best find of the year so far, and i literally did nothing but pick it up!
 

Upvote 1

Jose The Goon

Hero Member
Apr 1, 2017
566
1,501
East Coast
Detector(s) used
Whites 6000D, 6000Di, Eagle, & PI 1000
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Interesting find. Also, interesting terminology for such a coin; "unclad". This is a perfect opportunity for the TreasureNet community to "coin" a new
term that can become the norm when mentioning such a coin among detectorists & coin collectors. I propose that from this day forward, until the day we die,
such coins that are "unclad" be referred to as "naked coins".
Unclad definition:
un·clad
/ˌənˈklad/
adjective
adjective: unclad

1.
unclothed; naked.
2.
not provided with cladding.
"unclad girders"
 

l.cutler

Silver Member
Dec 2, 2006
2,655
1,967
NEPA
Detector(s) used
Tejon, Cibola, T2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
What does it weigh? If it is truly missing both clad layers it would be extremely light.
 

Potts

Sr. Member
Oct 13, 2010
386
124
U.P. Michigan
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Looks like a Quarter that was cleaned with copper penny's using salt and vinegar.
 

OP
OP
catyron

catyron

Jr. Member
Apr 15, 2019
44
87
Forestville, California
Detector(s) used
Old Maps, Dowsing, Borrowed detecting equipment from friends.
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Thanks for the helpful comments.

I compared it against two regular clad quarters and it is definitely thinner.

The reeding is weak. The strike is weak overall.

I have been reading up and looking at "copper quarters" --

Some have been found which have been marked with vibro-engraved letters (E or F or G) and little or no reeding. They seem to be someone's "game." This looks similar, but without the engraving.

I looked up the red-hot-quarter-in-methananol copper plating trick but this doesn't look like one of those.

The colour in my photos is far too red-orange and bright -- it is actually the colour of a medium brownish copper penny.

How would "cleaning it with copper pennies using salt and vinegar" remove the cladding?

I looked up the weight of a regular quarter (5.670 grams) and i will get it weighed tomorrow.

Whether it is a genuine missing clad, a spoof, a counterfeit, a plating job, or a clad-removal job, i love it.

Thanks, all, for your kind tips.
 

Last edited:

Toecutter

Bronze Member
Nov 30, 2018
2,433
7,443
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
100 to 300 for copper state quarters.... dang i better get my tumbler going.... lemon juice with the clad in the tumbler will have same effect.... not sure why though...
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top