# 1987 U.S. quarter has no ridges (reeding) on its edge. Is it special/valuable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823 "2012-09-15T22:30:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/1 "2012-09-15T22:30:14Z")
I noticed that a 1987 U.S. quarter I own has no ridges (technically called reeding or milling) anywhere around its edge. What gives? Is it in any way special or valuable? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/2 "2012-09-15T22:34:55Z")
Well, I’ve never seen one like that and ebay has nothing like it for sale (645 listings), and none in the completed sales. Since the normal 1987 US quarter has reeding, I’d say you either have a scarce coin or someone has very carefully removed the reeding. You might want to take a photo of it and PM **Samclem** to find out more. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/3 "2012-09-15T22:38:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, I’ve never seen one like that and ebay has nothing like it for sale (645 listings), and none in the completed sales. Since the normal 1987 US quarter has reeding, I’d say you either have a scarce coin or someone has very carefully removed the reeding. You might want to take a photo of it and PM **Samclem** to find out more. What about counterfeiting? We have an incredible number if forged £1 coins, some of them that get accepted in shops are truly laughable. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/4 "2012-09-15T22:46:09Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > What about counterfeiting? > > We have an incredible number if forged £1 coins, some of them that get accepted in shops are truly laughable. Could be. But it’s pretty hard to make money counterfeiting 25 cent pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/5 "2012-09-15T22:50:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Could be. But it’s pretty hard to make money counterfeiting 25 cent pieces. I dunno, how many are in a roll? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/6 "2012-09-15T22:53:15Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > I dunno, how many are in a roll? 40 coins, or $10 US. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/7 "2012-09-15T23:04:00Z")
I’d also guess that the most probable explanation is that the coin has been defaced - somebody shaved off the milling. Compare it very carefully to another quarter and see if its diameter matches the inside diameter of a normal milled quarter, or maybe a little less. The historic reason for milling, of course, was to make coin shaving obvious when coins actually had considerable precious metal content. Maybe somebody got curious about how you’d do it and practiced on a modern quarter. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/8 "2012-09-15T23:05:32Z")
> [@campp](#): > > 40 coins, or $10 US. Thanks. Hmm.. I guess if you can manufacture them cheaply enough you could make a profit. There were Chinese coin counterfeiters who were making knock off US currency but I think it was dollar coins and silver coins. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/9 "2012-09-15T23:09:21Z")
We see things like this frequently. It just a rather minor minting error. Not a biggie. I don’t remember the name right now. Either too much wine or not enough. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/10 "2012-09-15T23:13:59Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > We see things like this frequently. It just a rather minor minting error. Not a biggie. I don’t remember the name right now. > > Either too much wine or not enough. Broadstruck? ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/11 "2012-09-16T00:20:07Z")
I suspect PMD - Post-Mint Damage. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/12 "2012-09-16T02:20:02Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Thanks. > > Hmm.. I guess if you can manufacture them cheaply enough you could make a profit. There were Chinese coin counterfeiters who were making knock off US currency but I think it was dollar coins and silver coins. It’s difficult to cash in coins. Few places will take rolls, banks will want ID in case there’s a problem, and the machines will pick up counterfeits. It’s not impossible, but there’s going to be some cost in making the fake coins to start with, and for 25 cent pieces that cuts a lot into your margin. Now counterfeiting rare coins would pay off well if you can make them look good enough. I don’t know what the value of a silver quarter is mint condition, but if it’s substantially more than the cost of the silver it shouldn’t be that hard to mint your own. I don’t know how easy it would be to detect the counterfeits. Anyway, maybe samclem will show up to explain it all. ETA: Just noticed that he did show up, and didn’t find much to explain. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/13 "2012-09-16T11:13:29Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Broadstruck? > [@Lips\_Obsession](#): > > I suspect PMD - Post-Mint Damage. Nope, not broadstruck. Not damage. I probably see one of these every month. Something defective in the collar when struck. ---
**Author:** ![dseymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@dseymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dseymore)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/14 "2014-12-06T22:53:28Z")
I have a strange quarter with no ridges and you can see in side of the coin can you help ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/15 "2014-12-06T23:26:04Z")
> [@dseymore](#): > > you can see in side of the coin How exactly does this work? Do you mean the coin has a hole in it? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/16 "2014-12-06T23:34:28Z")
I think he means you can see the sandwich-layers of different metals. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/17 "2014-12-06T23:36:10Z")
ETA - simulpost > [@Derleth](#): > > How exactly does this work? Do you mean the coin has a hole in it? I bet he means that when looking at it edge on he sees the dissimilar layers it’s made of. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/18 "2014-12-06T23:36:38Z")
FWIW, I once ran across a penny which had not been stamped at all (as in, with Honest Abe’s portrait and Memorial)-completely blank. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/19 "2014-12-06T23:40:36Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > FWIW, I once ran across a penny which had not been stamped at all (as in, with Honest Abe’s portrait and Memorial)-completely blank. \The penny no longer has the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse. [http://www.usmint.gov/mint\_programs/circulatingCoins/?action=circPenny](http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/circulatingCoins/?action=circPenny) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823/20 "2014-12-06T23:58:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think he means you can see the sandwich-layers of different metals. Except you can see that in normal coins. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1987-u-s-quarter-has-no-ridges-reeding-on-its-edge-is-it-special-valuable/634823.md?page=2)