The 2023 Quarter Value Guide: From 25¢ to $1,529

This dramatic die clash occurred at the Philadelphia Mint when the obverse and reverse dies struck each other without a planchet between them. The collision transferred design elements from each die face onto the other, creating ghost impressions that subsequently appear on every coin struck from those affected dies.

On coins affected by this error, you can detect faint but legible letters spelling "EDITH" ghosted onto Washington's portrait on the obverse — primarily visible near the cheek and neck region. The reverse shows a faint impression of Washington's profile transferred into Kanakaʻole's hair field.

Collectors prize this error because the ghosted name creates an almost surreal visual effect — effectively making Washington appear to be "wearing" the honoree's name. Cataloged as VCR#1/CDOR#1, it commands premiums from $80 on raw circulated examples to over $200 for certified Mint State specimens. Market examples have sold from $19.95 raw to $209.99 for a certified MS66.

This error originated at the Philadelphia Mint when a small fragment broke away from a working die's reverse hub, creating a void in the die face. During subsequent striking, molten-cold metal from each planchet was forced into that void, depositing a small but noticeable raised blob of metal directly on the airplane's right wing in the reverse design.

The blob appears as a rounded, raised "pimple" of metal at a specific location on the airplane wing. Its position is consistent across all affected coins because it was produced by the same damaged die. The error is exclusive to Philadelphia strikes — the Denver Mint used different dies with no corresponding damage.

Collectors find this error appealing because the airplane is Bessie Coleman's defining symbol — she was the first African-American and Native American woman to earn a pilot's license. A die chip on her airplane feels particularly fitting as an error variety. Raw examples sell from $20 to $112 depending on the blob's size and the coin's overall grade. Certification amplifies values further.

Die cracks form when stress fractures propagate through a working die after thousands of strikes. On the Jovita Idar quarter, these cracks have been documented running through Idar's hair, across her clothing, and even spanning the reverse lettering — with some specimens showing as many as three distinct crack lines simultaneously.

The raised ridges left by die cracks are visible under magnification and can often be detected with the naked eye on dramatic examples. The cracks produce a continuous raised line of metal that runs across the design surface, following the fracture path through the die steel.

The Jovita Idar quarter has produced the series' top auction result: a Denver-mint example certified PCGS MS68 sold for $1,529.15 in September 2024 — driven by the combination of extreme grade rarity and a very low population. An NGC MS69 example sold for $645 on eBay in January 2024. Standard die-crack specimens in lower grades sell for $26–$50 ungraded, with dramatic multi-crack examples commanding $100–$300+.

A retained cud occurs when a section of the die completely breaks away — but the broken fragment remains in place during striking rather than falling out. The retained fragment produces a raised, irregular blob of metal on the coin that is physically connected to the rim, making the coin's surface uneven in that region.

On the Eleanor Roosevelt quarter, retained cuds have been documented primarily between the 12 and 2 o'clock positions on the reverse rim. The raised irregular metal mass covers part of the lettering or design near the rim and has a distinctive matte texture compared to the struck fields. Importantly, a retained cud produces raised metal — not a depression — distinguishing it from damage.

This is among the rarest confirmed error types in the 2023 series. A certified MS63 example sold at Heritage Auctions in February 2025 for $238, establishing a strong price benchmark for the variety. Smaller rim breaks and partial cuds trade in the $50–$100 range depending on the size and preservation of the cud mass.

This error on the Maria Tallchief quarter mirrors the mechanism behind the Bessie Coleman wing chip: a small fragment broke away from the Denver Mint's reverse die, creating a raised blob of metal near the headdress feathers in the coin's design. The headdress is a central visual element of the Tallchief reverse, depicting the traditional flowing feather headdress associated with her Osage heritage.

The die chip creates a small raised bump that visually integrates with the feather arrangement, appearing — to the casual eye — as an additional feather that was not part of the original design. This quasi-integration makes it one of the more visually appealing error types in the series, as it doesn't immediately look "wrong" to non-collectors.

While lower in absolute dollar value than the Clashed Die or Jovita Idar errors, the Extra Feather variety is a popular find among error hunters specifically because it has a low mintage base (Maria Tallchief had the joint-lowest 2023 mintage at about 370.6 million combined). Raw examples sell for $5–$25, while uncirculated certified coins have been listed at $75 or more on collector marketplaces.