History of the 1976 "No S" 40% silver Bicentennial Quarter, Half and Dollar

[CaptHenway]

Reposted for posterity without the piffle that appeared in the original thread.

 

On August 12, 1974, amid the turmoil over the resignation of President Nixon just a few days before, a ceremonial first striking of the Bicentennial Quarter, Half and Dollar was held at the Philadelphia Mint. The three designers were there for the photo op, though President Ford was not. In ordinary times a President would probably have attended such an event, but these were not ordinary times. It was reported that sets of the coins were given to the three designers, and a set sent to President Ford. Specimens of the new coins were then exhibited at the ANA Convention in Bal Harbour, FL.

 

Publicity photos sent out by the Mint clearly show all three coins as Proofs. They were widely reproduced, and can be seen among other places on P. 27 of the First (1976) Edition of the Coin World Almanac, which I worked on and which came out in 1975. The coins do not have mint marks. The Dollar is of course a Type One reverse.

 

Some time later, after the three-piece 40% silver sets with the Mint marks had been released, I was working on a story that involved Bicentennial coins and I retrieved the official Mint photos from the picture morgue to illustrate the story. I noticed that the coins in the photos did not have mint marks. I made a mention of this in the story, but the Editor at the time, Margo Russell, removed the mention as irrelevant to the story. To the best of my knowledge the fact that these were "No S" Proofs had not yet been published anywhere.

 

When I asked her about the coins, she said that the sets given to the three designers and to President Ford had been later replaced with regular sets, and that the coins without mint marks had been destroyed.

 

In May of 1978, a 1976 "No S" 40% silver Proof Ike with a Type Two reverse was submitted to Collectors Clearinghouse (see CW 6-7-78, P. 21) by somebody in the Washington D.C. area. He said that it had been found in a cash register in mid-1977 at the Woodward and Lothrup Department Store in Washington, D.C. The Mint's executive offices are in Washington, D.C. The coin was lightly impaired from being mishandled, though like the man in Monty Python's "Holy Grail" who had been turned into a newt, it has apparently gotten better.

 

Why a "No S" Type Two dollar was struck in 40% silver Proof, or how it came to be spent in Washington, D.C., has never been established. Whether any of the other "No S" 40% silver coins still exist is unknown.

 

TD

[No+4Me]

Interesting story, with several intertwined mysteries.

[Merf]

On 9/15/2014 at 7:00 AM, CaptHenway said:

Reposted for posterity without the piffle that appeared in the original thread.

 

On August 12, 1974, amid the turmoil over the resignation of President Nixon just a few days before, a ceremonial first striking of the Bicentennial Quarter, Half and Dollar was held at the Philadelphia Mint. The three designers were there for the photo op, though President Ford was not. In ordinary times a President would probably have attended such an event, but these were not ordinary times. It was reported that sets of the coins were given to the three designers, and a set sent to President Ford. Specimens of the new coins were then exhibited at the ANA Convention in Bal Harbour, FL.

 

Publicity photos sent out by the Mint clearly show all three coins as Proofs. They were widely reproduced, and can be seen among other places on P. 27 of the First (1976) Edition of the Coin World Almanac, which I worked on and which came out in 1975. The coins do not have mint marks. The Dollar is of course a Type One reverse.

 

Some time later, after the three-piece 40% silver sets with the Mint marks had been released, I was working on a story that involved Bicentennial coins and I retrieved the official Mint photos from the picture morgue to illustrate the story. I noticed that the coins in the photos did not have mint marks. I made a mention of this in the story, but the Editor at the time, Margo Russell, removed the mention as irrelevant to the story. To the best of my knowledge the fact that these were "No S" Proofs had not yet been published anywhere.

 

When I asked her about the coins, she said that the sets given to the three designers and to President Ford had been later replaced with regular sets, and that the coins without mint marks had been destroyed.

 

In May of 1978, a 1976 "No S" 40% silver Proof Ike with a Type Two reverse was submitted to Collectors Clearinghouse (see CW 6-7-78, P. 21) by somebody in the Washington D.C. area. He said that it had been found in a cash register in mid-1977 at the Woodward and Lothrup Department Store in Washington, D.C. The Mint's executive offices are in Washington, D.C. The coin was lightly impaired from being mishandled, though like the man in Monty Python's "Holy Grail" who had been turned into a newt, it has apparently gotten better.

 

Why a "No S" Type Two dollar was struck in 40% silver Proof, or how it came to be spent in Washington, D.C., has never been established. Whether any of the other "No S" 40% silver coins still exist is unknown.

 

TD

I found a bicentenninl  quarter no mint mark that weighs 5.9 any info

[BillJones]

25 minutes ago, Merf said:

I found a bicentenninl  quarter no mint mark that weighs 5.9 any info

The Philadelphia Mint copper-nickel Bicentennial Quarters did not have mint marks. All of the Bicentennial quarters that were struck on the 40% silver clad planchets had "S" mint marks, except for the rare pattern pieces that CaptHenway mentioned here. I was not aware that any of those coins had survived.

[WoodenJefferson]

...something is afoot? 

[Conder101]

If it isn't a proof, it is a regular Philadelphia business strike worth a quarter.

If it is a proof (Mirror fields with frosted devices) then pictures would be needed, and if people here agree that it is a proof then it should be submitted for professional examination and certification.

[JIM F.]

9 minutes ago, Conder101 said:

If it isn't a proof, it is a regular Philadelphia business strike worth a quarter.

If it is a proof (Mirror fields with frosted devices) then pictures would be needed, and if people here agree that it is a proof then it should be submitted for professional examination and certification.

He can silver plate it, polish it, then get it slabbed as a polished, plated, non-proof, then put it on Ebay, keyword spam it, and say that in his opinion it is a silver no-S proof and ask a ridiculous amount of money.

[WoodenJefferson]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 3:06 PM, jimbucks said:

He can silver plate it, polish it, then get it slabbed as a polished, plated, non-proof, then put it on Ebay, keyword spam it, and say that in his opinion it is a silver no-S proof and ask a ridiculous amount of money.

sounds familiar

[KarenHolcomb]

So a dude posted photos of a 76 no S silver quarter on the FB PAGE US VARIETIES AND ERROR coins yesterday. I been trying to find a reason that there is no MM on a silver 76 and this thread is all I can find. Any of you know of another link to look at? 

[KarenHolcomb]

Guy has a different name on FB but I guess it could be the same dude. Idk? I have his photos if y'all want to see them.

[Conder101]

Quote

 I been trying to find a reason that there is no MM on a silver 76

The reason is that it is most likely a plated Philadelphia quarter.  Problem it will take either a specific gravity test or an XRF test to prove which it is.  Of course if it was one of the 40% silver Philadelphia coins it would be a cameo proof.  If it isn't that is a BIG strike against it right there.

[KarenHolcomb]

It's just weird that 2 people would claim to have 2 separate silver, no S 76 quarters, and within a month of each other too. But apparently I am the only one that thinks it's suspicious as I also asked a dude from the FB Page about it. He thinks it is a miscalibrated scale but that doesn't account for the all silver looking rim. I think Jimbucks up there may be onto something. Lol! But I am of a conspiracy theory/most people are crooked mindset. 

[KarenHolcomb]

Smh. Now there's a kid on the FB page with what he's being told is a fake 1795 Full Bust. It definitely doesn't match any pictures I could find.

So the counterfeit world is fairly prevalent with regard to coins, I guess? I suppose I should keep up with stuff so I don't get taken along on someones ride. Do you guys lnow if there is a database of known counterfeits that just anyone can view?

[numisport]

Old thread but good story about existence of no MM Bicentennial coins. After examining 30 or 40 normal sets not too long ago I did see almost all were cameo sets with only a couple single coins that were deep cameo. Deep or ultra cameo coins are readily available in high grade if you want them. A real prize would be a matched heavy cameo set. By the way Daniel Carr has high grade 75-D quarters for something different.

[Ha7rpy]

So I've been searching for days and landed on this thread. I have a 76 p silver quarter. I've taken it to two trusted coin shops in my area and they can't make heads or tails of it. It definitely has been Cleaned in the past. And I'm not sure if it's a proof although it does look nice.  Plated?

Spoiler

 

 

[JIM F.]

This Ebay listing comes to mind, listed for $19,950.  With the description 

Quote

In our opinion, this is a proof coin, not a business strike. 

Yeah, I'm gonna believe this Ebay seller.  

[Conder101]

13 hours ago, Ha7rpy said:

I have a 76 p silver quarter. I've taken it to two trusted coin shops in my area and they can't make heads or tails of it. It definitely has been Cleaned in the past. And I'm not sure if it's a proof although it does look nice.  Plated?

Not a proof and yes it is cleaned and plated.  Don't trust those two dealers for numismatic information.  They sound like dealers that just know how to read the greysheet and slab labels.