Too many serious topics lately. Let’s have a little numismatic fun.

2013 Mount Rushmore QuarterIt was a busy day. While I really wanted to go out for lunch, all I had time for was to go to the cafeteria in the building where I work to get something quick. After settling on something I went to pay handing the cashier a piece of paper with the portrait of Andrew Jackson. In the change returned were three quarters. Most of the time I will just drop the change in my pocket and check it out later. But on this day, I took a glance at the coins and something struck me. Well, it didn’t strike me but it looks like something struck one of my quarter. Twice!

Closing my hands around the coins I walked away from the cash register and found a place I could stop to better examine what I had. Did I just find a rare double-strike quarter? Is it really an error? How much could it be worth?

Putting down my lunch container, I opened my hand and found quarters. Not just one but three quarters. Three 2013 Mount Rushmore quarters. It was not a double-strike but the double-image of the side-by-side portraits that fooled me.

And this happened more than once. If I take a quick glance at change that contains the Mount Rushmore quarters I get the impression that I found a double-struck coin.

The Mount Rushmore quarter has to be one of the better designs of the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. Rather than attempting to be a pretty postcard-like image of the place of honor, the design is more about the sculpting of the impressive monument.

So be careful when glancing at your change. Those two faces side-by-side is not a double-strike or double-die. It is just a portrait of a portrait of George and Thomas being immortalized in granite.

Coin image courtesy of the U.S. Mint.

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