Two tailed quarter

[numisport]

Sorry if this stuff bores you folks but I'm troubled again by obvious clandestine mint activity and I'm sure you'll correct me on this. Two sided reverse quarter shows up at PCGS and Don Willis touts this as proof of just how well submitters trust PCGSs' accuracy. I stand back and wonder just how a person could sneak this out of the mint. The answer is they didn't 'sneak' it out ..... it was most likely intentionally manufactured for a willing buyer. Please somebody put my mind at ease. Coin does not appear to be circulated and was likely funneled away to let it cool off for a while hmmmmmm ?

[Conder101]

One way they sneaked them out back then was to drop them down the oil fill tube on the forklifts, then a partner would remove them from the oil pan during servicing.  Once that was discovered they installed screens in the oil fill tubes.

These two tailed quarters and many other S mint proof errors were recovered from an abandoned safe deposit box years ago.  The contents were sold at auction during one of California's periodic sales of abandoned property.  I believe there were three two tailed quarters in the box.

[thebeav]

I'm not sure why I think this, but I did think that the obverse and reverse dies were a different size. 

I guess not, huh ?

[WoodenJefferson]

58 minutes ago, thebeav said:

I'm not sure why I think this, but I did think that the obverse and reverse dies were a different size. 

I guess not, huh ?

If you want something bad enough, even the toughest obstacles can be overcome in order to gain results. Think of crooks & locks...locks are there only to keep the honest people out. Same with any other mechanical device that can be modified to gain results. Production of the two-tailed Washington quarter dollar is believed to have been executed at the San Francisco Mint when operations resumed between 1965 and 1967. (Hint: There were no visible Mint Marks on coins during this time frame, so this opens the possibilities of other Mint locations but that could be used to benefit the perpetrators at the San Francisco Mint)

To me, I believe the Treasury Department or who ever, should have seized these 'impossible' errors without intervention and gotten them off the market. Our currency production should not benefit anyone with multiple gains due to someone purposely striking a so-called impossible error and then getting it clandestinely out of the Mint.

[Conder101]

5 hours ago, thebeav said:

I'm not sure why I think this, but I did think that the obverse and reverse dies were a different size. 

Not really different sizes, but depending on the press and/or time period the shape of the dies may be different so that two hammer dies or two reverse dies could not be put into the press at the same time.  But some work with a grinder could overcome that.  Another problem is that the length of the necks of the dies are different.  The anvil dies have longer necks than the hammer dies.  Two hammer dies will be far enough apart that the strike would probably be weak.  Also the hammer die in the anvil position will not have a long enough neck to push the coin up and out of the collar.  In the case of two anvil dies the extra length would prevent the feed fingers from being able to eject the coin and place the next planchet.  When the anvil die rises it could push the coin out but it may then be jammed between the two dies.  Also them may not be enough room between the dies for the feed fingers.  I would think that each coin would require assistance for the press operator to feed it in and then remove it from the press.  (The extra length of the anvil dies would provide a very stroke strike though.)  Once again some grinding to the bottom of the base of the upper anvil die to reduce it's overall height might get around that problem.

[numisport]

I don't know much about the mechanical aspect of this process but would like to know more. Certainly seems to me these coins should be confiscated due to obvious manipulation of normal mint operations. So given differences in hammer and anvil die dimensions I conclude these coins are not errors but intentional strikes. I stand to be corrected please GO.