2024 Quarter Series Errors: Complete Collectors Guide

The US Mint’s American Women Quarters Program honors important women that have made significant contributions to American history. The program, which will conclude in 2025, has released 5 new quarters each year since 2022.

The quarters themselves are not worth anything more than their face value so far. It remains to be seen if owning the entire set will be a worthwhile goal for numismatists.

However, to err is human, and several errors on the 2024 set of quarters have the potential to be quite valuable to coin collectors right now. So, let’s discuss what common coin errors are, what errors are known to exist, and exactly why these five women are honored on American currency.

What Are Common Coin Errors?

There are two types of imperfections that may appear on a coin. Some of them, like nicks, dings, and worn-down features, occur after a coin has entered circulation.

Those aren’t the ones that are valuable. Valuable coin errors are imperfections that get stamped into the coin during the minting process. In other words, a coin error is when the machine or the mint workers make a mistake.

The minting process is straightforward. Workers place metal discs known as “planchets” into a hydraulic press. Then, the planchets are stamped with the designs – called “dies” – that are placed into the press assembly.

However, dies wear down and break from time to time, and can create faulty stamps in the coins. So, some coins may have “die chips” – blobs or lumps that don’t belong in the design. Others might have die cracks – creases or lines that cut across the coin’s features.

In some cases, the die itself may be faulty and have parts of the design wrong. Most commonly, dies may have portions of the relief duplicated, resulting in a “double die” error – where there are additional and superfluous elements alongside the design pieces that are supposed to be there.

There may also be a problem with the amount of energy that the press applies to the planchet, where the two dies meet with such force that they touch each other. This kind of error can result in a flipped version of the coin appearing on the opposite side. This problem is known as a “die clash” error.

It is even possible that some sort of foreign object may drift into the press while minting is ongoing. If it gets between the die and the coin, it can imprint its shape onto the coin instead – a condition known as a “strikethrough” error.

Finally, the press may have a problem where its two presses are misaligned. Coins are stamped on both sides simultaneously, and any lack of alignment can leave one side or both off-center on the planchet.

Known Errors So Far on 2024 Quarters

Now that we’re clear on the most common errors that can afflict coins like the 2024 quarters, it’s time to get more specific. So, here are the ones that – at this moment – are fairly well-known to coin collectors and numismatists on the 2024 set.

General Errors

There are several errors that may afflict any of the five 2024 quarters. In other words, aside from the specific mistakes listed below, you may encounter some of the following issues on these coins:

• Die chips – Again, these are blobs that are out of place on the coin’s design. The bigger they are, the more valuable they are to collectors.
• In Cod We Trust – Fish are great, but not so much that they would be celebrated on our currency. Naturally, the error is the stamping of a C instead of a G, replacing the supreme deity for a member of the Gadidae family.
• Split planchet – In some coins, the crack in the die is so deep that the copper core of the quarter is revealed.

There are some more specific errors associated with the 2024 quarters, however, so let’s look at those.

• The Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Quarter
  • Die clash error. On some Walker quarters, the design on the obverse, or front, of the coin may appear on the reverse, or back, of it. Somewhat ironically, this error will appear reversed on the reverse.
  • Strikethrough error. In some cases, there may be some sort of interceding object on the imprint of her Congressional Medal of Honor’s star. The error may look to be a large die chip upon inspection, but either way, it may be worth much more than its face value.
• The Patsy Takemoto Mink Quarter
  • Large die chip. The large blob makes it appear that her left arm is afflicted with a disturbing growth that suggests Mrs. Mink urgently needed to visit a doctor.
  • Group of die chips. The second error is a group of small die chips that lie on the right edge of the image of the US Capitol. There may be blobs that appear just to the left of the word “cents” on the coin.
• The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray Quarter
  • Strikethrough errors. Some of these coins seem to be pressed in different places with foreign objects of indeterminate shape and size.
  • Doubled die errors (possible). There are some unconfirmed reports about Murray quarters with doubled elements on them, so it’s good to examine yours closely.
  • Die cracks (possible). There are some reports about cracks in the “E” of the word HOPE on the reverse. You may see a line from the W in “weary” up into the word “throat.”
• The Zitkála-Šá Quarter
  • Die chips. Numerous die chips are known to appear on the reverse of this quarter. Your Zitkála-Šá quarter may have blobs on her nose, her mouth, the bird’s face, or around the lettering of the coin.
  • Doubled die. There are indications that some of these quarters have doublings on both Zitkála-Šá’s chin and her hair braid. However, look closely, because some of these may be part of the intended design.
• The Celia Cruz Quarter
  • Die chip/lamination folds. There are some Cruz quarters that have die chips on them. Notably, there is a teardrop-shaped defect on Mrs. Cruz’s mouth/tongue.
  • Double die error. Some doubling is reported on various Philadelphia versions of the coin around the ear and hairline of Mrs. Cruz.

Overview of 2024 Quarters

As mentioned, all five of these quarters are part of the American Women Quarters Program. The US Mint committed to issuing five new quarters each year between 2022 and 2025.

Each of the 20 women honored has made significant impacts on American culture, life, and history. Some of them, like Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, and Sally Ride, are well-known figures whose life stories are common knowledge.

Others are less-known figures and are receiving their just due and attention through these quarters. In some cases, they were not recognized for their achievements during their lifetimes, but now gain a measure of vindication via the US Mint.

The Honorees of The 2024 Quarters Are:

• Dr. Mary Edwards Walker – The first and only woman to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military honor afforded to those who serve in the military.
• Patsy Takemoto Mink – The first Asian-American woman to serve in the US Congress and one of the principal authors of Title IX.
• Zitkala-Ša – A Yankton Sioux who campaigned for the plight of Native Americans and wrote the first opera in the Sioux language.
• Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray – Clergywoman and attorney whose work served as the backstop for Brown v. Board of Education and served as a key figure in addition of gender to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Celia Cruz – The “Queen of Salsa” who was the forerunner and first star ever to popularize Latin music into the mainstream in the US.

How to Confirm You Have 2024 Error Quarters

The notion of coin errors is quite exciting. It represents the possibility of finding treasure – literally – in your pocket. Better yet, the quarters themselves are easy to find.

Now, “treasure” might be a bit of an overstatement in this case, as even the most valuable quarters in the series only sell for $75 at most. However, considering the coins are usually worth 25 cents, a $75 one is a pretty valuable thing.

In fact, you can check any coins you have for errors. The tricky part is determining whether the irregular portions of your coins are due to problems during the minting process or are due to post-minting damage.

Look for blobs, cracks, and doubled elements on your coins. Those are indicative of errors, rather than damage, and may be worth some money. Damaged coins are probably still worth their face values, anyway.

If you suspect you have an error coin, the first thing to do is consult the internet to see if your defect is commonly known. The benefit of taking to Google is that if you determine that you likely have a known error, you might get a good idea about the coin’s value before you do anything else.

However, at the end of the day, the only way to confirm an error is with an expert on that kind of thing. Fortunately, we have exactly that type of expert a phone call away. So, give us a call anytime, day or night, and we can help you understand whether your quarter is not just a quarter anymore.