The Wisconsin Quarter Nobody Can Explain

Some 2004 Wisconsin quarters struck at the Denver Mint carry an extra leaf on the ear of corn. More than twenty years later, nobody can say for certain how it got there.

Two Versions of One Mystery

The Wisconsin quarter's reverse shows a cow, a wheel of cheese and an ear of corn. On the extra leaf quarters, an additional leaf appears on the left side of the corn. On some it curves up, the extra leaf high; on others it curves down, the extra leaf low. PCGS certifies both as separate varieties, and both come only from Denver.

Found in Tucson

The quarters turned up at the end of 2004. They were first spotted at a coin shop in Tucson, Arizona, and most of the early finds came from around Tucson and San Antonio. By early 2005, sets of the two varieties and a normal coin were selling for $300 to $600, and over $1,000 for pristine examples.

On Purpose?

The leaf looked so much like part of the design that rumors spread that a Mint employee had added it deliberately. The Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General investigated. According to its report, as covered by Numismatic News, it found no evidence of intentional criminal conduct, ruled out clashed dies, and attributed the flaw to "some element of the production process outside of human control." No one was charged and no one was fired.

The Press Operator

The report also described a Denver press operator who noticed "leaf up" coins during a spot check on a Friday night in November 2004. He shut the press down and set the coin aside, but the press was running again when he returned from a break. He caught the defect again on his next check and the die was finally changed. By his estimate, 35,000 to 50,000 extra leaf quarters had already shipped with the good coins, far more than the roughly 1,000 estimated earlier. The low leaf variety was never explained.

Afterwards, the Denver Mint began keeping "last strike" samples from each die and extended how long it kept first-strike samples.

Check Your Quarters

Look for the D mint mark on the front, just right of the ribbon at the back of Washington's hair, then check the left side of the corn on the back. See both varieties in the catalog: 2004-D Extra Leaf High and 2004-D Extra Leaf Low, part of State Quarters 1999-2008.

Sources: Numismatic News, "Mint explains Wisconsin quarter error" (July 21, 2008, reporting the Treasury Office of Inspector General report); Associated Press / Deseret News, "Wisconsin's flawed coins spur frenzy" (Feb. 9, 2005); PCGS, "PCGS Grades Wisconsin State Quarter Major Varieties."