Collectors are in a frenzy as they search pocket change for last year’s Minnesota state quarters with an “extra tree” in the design! They are finding them in bank-wrapped rolls, widely available at coin shops, and in circulation. They are auctioning them off on eBay as fast as they can find them, garnering prices ranging from an average of $150 to $500 from eager collectors willing to pay the price. The coin that is the focus of their attention displays significant portions of an “extra tree” literally floating in the sky next to the fourth evergreen tree to the right of the state outline. Specialists suggest the error occurred during production of the coining die when the master tool used to impress the design into it slipped during the process.
The "Extra Tree" Doubled Die is Getting a Lot of Attention
These Minnesota "Extra Tree" quarters are what specialists refer to as a doubled die; a popular type with collectors, depending on how strong and unusual the doubling is. With the coins attracting front-page coverage spanning several weeks in the national hobby publication, Numismatic News, and a series of features in Coin World, along with Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, Calif., now certifying hundreds of them for marketing purposes, it appears they are catching on.
Additionally, whatever condition existed in the Mint to produce these coins didn’t get corrected immediately; several additional varieties of “extra tree” Minnesota quarters with slight differences in location and/or shape have also been found in recent weeks and are selling briskly on eBay as collectors try to obtain one of each type!
If You Find an "Extra Tree" Quarter, Let Us Know!
Details on how these doubled dies were created can be found at the Variety Vault web site. We ask that any finds of the varieties already listed here, or new ones, be reported to error coins expert Ken Potter for a follow-up article.
