1929 Quarter Error List with Pictures

A widened 1929-S quarter brought $4,025 in August 2006. Another broadstruck example sold for $2,013 in January 2026, showing how prices can differ even within one error type.

The 1929 quarter errors below include much smaller clues, such as an extra S or eagle feathers beside Liberty’s elbow. Estimated whole-coin values span $25–$5,000.

Use the pictures and checks below to separate these unusual features from normal design and wear.

1. 1929 Standing Liberty Quarter Grease-Filled Design

A patch of missing detail can form when grease fills part of a stamping tool. The metal cannot enter that filled space, so the coin receives less of the intended picture.

This type is reported for 1929 quarters, without a specific mint or affected area established. It should not be identified from a weak head or worn date alone.

The date normally sits in a recessed area on this issue. That protective design is not a minting error.

A genuine blocked area can affect otherwise unworn metal. Circulation wear instead removes details after the coin is made.

Estimated Value

Use an estimated $25–$250 for a confirmed grease-filled error on a 1929 quarter. A minor weak letter on a worn coin usually fits near the bottom.

A sharply outlined loss of detail on an attractive coin can make a more convincing display. The surrounding design should help show what failed to form.

These are whole-coin estimates, including the value of the silver quarter itself. Routine weakness on Liberty’s head does not automatically add an error premium.

How to Identify

Look at Liberty’s head, shield, and robe before focusing on the weak patch. These areas help show whether the coin has general wear or only localized missing detail.

Compare another 1929 quarter of similar condition under the same light. The recessed date area is normal, so compare the actual digits rather than the depth of their surrounding recess.

A magnifier can reveal scratches that have removed the picture after minting. Polishing may leave parallel lines crossing both the weak patch and nearby raised details.

Turn the light sideways to examine the transition. Look for sharply struck detail continuing right up to a localized area where the design failed to form.

 

2. 1929 Standing Liberty Quarter Repunched S Mintmark

An extra piece of an S appears toward the upper left of the main mintmark on this variety. The small letter is on the front, beside the lower part of Liberty’s figure.

In 1929, workers punched the mintmark into the stamping tool by hand. An earlier, slightly misplaced punch could remain visible after another S was added.

This is called a repunched mintmark. It differs from striking the whole coin twice.

Wexler lists this San Francisco pattern as S over S toward the northwest. Only the repeated letter, not every surrounding mark, belongs to that pattern.

Estimated Value

An estimated $40–$400 covers identifiable examples from worn coins to attractive, unworn pieces. The tiny upper-left remnant should be clear enough to distinguish from damage.

A stronger strike helps preserve the letter’s curves. Heavy wear can merge the two impressions and make identification less secure.

The range is an estimate for the entire quarter, not a quoted sale of this variety. Cleaning, scratches near the S, and the overall condition affect the final price.

How to Identify

Find the S beside Liberty’s lower figure, on the left as you face the coin. Enlarge that small area with a 10× magnifier, keeping enough surrounding design visible to locate it.

Carefully inspect the upper-left edge for a second curved segment that fits an S. Then follow the main letter’s curves so a nearby scratch or lump does not become an imagined extra mintmark.

Compare the remnant with a correctly identified 1929-S example while changing the light angle. A real raised outline remains in the same place; a bright reflection can shift, and a scratched line cuts into the metal.

 

3. 1929 Standing Liberty Quarter Doubled Stars and Reverse Lettering

The three stars beneath the eagle can show fine extra edges on a 1929-D quarter. Small repeated outlines also affect QUARTER DOLLAR.

These details were repeated in the die, the stamping tool, before it made the coin. A normal strike could therefore produce the extra shapes.

The documented pattern points inward, toward the center of the back design. It is not a second complete eagle or a doubled date.

Because the separation is slight, wear can hide it. A flat, shelf-like edge caused during striking can also resemble doubling at first glance.

Estimated Value

For this Denver doubled-back variety, use an estimated $40–$500. Readable separation at the stars and lettering makes a more useful example than general thickening.

Sharp surfaces can preserve small outlines that disappear on heavily worn coins. A coin with good overall detail can therefore command more than one with only a vague doubled edge.

The range is a whole-coin estimate rather than an auction quote. Several doubled stars came from one tool and do not carry separate added prices.

How to Identify

Check the D on the front before turning to the eagle. This specific pattern belongs to Denver, even though the doubled details are on the opposite face.

Place the three lower stars and QUARTER DOLLAR under a magnifier together. Check their inner edges for the fine repeated shapes described in Wexler’s Standing Liberty listings.

Use a lamp at a low angle to distinguish rounded raised detail from a flat shelf. Compare more than one star or letter so a single nick cannot explain the entire pattern.

The extra edges should repeat in the listed inward direction. Look along the stars and words for that shared arrangement.

 

4. 1929 Standing Liberty Quarter Clipped Blank

A curved gap can begin before a blank becomes a coin. If the punch overlaps a hole already cut in the silver strip, it removes an incomplete disc.

The press can still strike that disc, leaving the gap beside the finished design. This is called a clipped blank or clipped planchet.

Clips are reported for 1929 quarters, but the available year report does not establish a particular mint or gap position. No direction should be assumed from the date alone.

Later cutting can remove a similar arc. The rim and the gap’s boundary help separate the two.

Estimated Value

Estimate $50–$700 for an authenticated 1929 clipped quarter. A larger clear gap with a readable date generally makes a stronger display than a tiny edge loss.

The upper portion suits well-preserved examples with convincing original edges. A worn coin can still be collectible when the missing area is easy to identify.

Weakness opposite the gap can help explain the error, but it is not a separate premium. A sawn or filed quarter falls outside this error estimate.

How to Identify

Follow the two places where the curved gap meets the normal outline. A magnifier may show lettering or rim detail becoming weak near those ends.

Turn to the rim opposite the gap and check for a weak section there. That feature can support a genuine clip, although it need not be equally clear on every coin.

Weigh a loose candidate on a digital scale. An intact 1929 silver quarter normally weighs 6.25 grams, so a missing piece should reduce the weight.

Weight loss alone also fits cutting or corrosion.

Inspect the missing edge under angled light for saw lines, sharp burrs, or filed surfaces. The surviving design should meet the gap without a fresh cut through finished letters.

 

5. 1929 Standing Liberty Quarter Clashed Designs Beside Liberty

Letters from the back can appear near Liberty’s robe on the front. The two stamping tools struck each other without a coin blank between them, transferring parts of their designs.

Later coins then picked up those stray shapes. This process is called a die clash.

The San Francisco example shows letter fragments below the robe, a star near Liberty’s right shoulder, and eagle-tail traces beside her right elbow. Its two clash patterns are slightly offset.

A separate Philadelphia example has robe-area letters and tail-feather traces. The illustrated San Francisco coin shows no matching clash marks on its back.

Estimated Value

Estimate $40–$3,000 across worn and exceptionally preserved clash examples. A 1929-S FS-401 graded PCGS MS66+ sold for $2,520 in January 2022.

MS66+ describes an unworn coin with very few marks and strong overall quality. That high-grade coin’s price is not simply a fee for the faint clash marks.

For lower-grade pieces, visible transferred letters and feathers can still attract specialists. Natural surfaces and readable details make a stronger example than a cleaned coin with blurred marks.

How to Identify

Use Liberty’s right shoulder and elbow as landmarks, rather than searching the whole surface for unusual lines. These are her right-hand features, not the viewer’s right.

Mad Die Clashes illustrates the San Francisco pattern. A star trace appears near the shoulder, while tail-feather marks meet the fabric beside the elbow.

With a magnifier, move down to the robe and look for fragments of E, M, and R. Those shapes come from the reverse inscriptions, not scratches forming random letters.

Compare Philadelphia coins with their separate clash pattern. The San Francisco example need not have marks on the back: concentrate on the transferred shapes around Liberty.

 

6. 1929 Standing Liberty Quarter Broadstrike and Stretched Date

The date may look stretched even though the rest of a quarter seems ordinary. On one 1929-S example, outward metal flow is easiest to see below Liberty.

The collar, a ring around the blank, should limit the coin’s width. Without its support, the struck metal can spread beyond the normal outline.

This produces a broadstrike. The whole design remains on the coin, although its outer parts can stretch and the picture need not sit perfectly in the middle.

The recorded PCGS MS62 example also has colorful toning. Its expanded metal, rather than that color, identifies the error.

Estimated Value

A PCGS MS62 example sold for $2,013 in January 2026. A different MS62 broadstrike brought $4,025 in August 2006, showing the spread between individual results.

Use an estimated $1,200–$5,000 for comparable authenticated pieces. MS62 means unworn but with noticeable marks or other limitations.

The amount of expansion, clear date, and surface quality all matter. Strong scratches or a poorly preserved surface can lower a coin’s appeal even when the widening remains easy to recognize.

How to Identify

Lay a normal Standing Liberty quarter beside the candidate and compare the lower front outline. The January 2026 example shows the clearest spreading around its distorted date.

Check the outer words and picture on both faces. A broadstrike retains the design, while a true off-center strike loses some of it beyond the blank.

For a loose coin, use calipers to compare its width with the normal diameter of about 24.3 millimeters. Inspect the edge for expansion beyond the area normally held by the collar.

On a certified coin, leave the holder sealed and use angled views instead. Examine the stretched digits together with the widened metal around them.

 

Conclusion

The estimated $25–$5,000 range starts with small blocked details and rises to scarce broadstrikes. Look closely at the S, the stars below the eagle, and the fabric around Liberty.

A recessed date is normal for 1929, while a stretched date can be one clue to spreading outside the collar. Keep each coin’s mint, condition, and actual visible feature together when comparing its value.