2009 Guam Quarter Doubled Dies, Errors, and Varieties

The 2009 Guam quarter was the third release in the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. Its reverse depicts the outline of Guam, a Chamorro flying proa, and a latte stone, with the inscription GUAHAN I TANÓ MANCHAMORRO (“Guam – Land of the Chamorro”).

The U.S. Mint credits David Westwood as reverse designer and Jim Licaretz as reverse sculptor. Circulation coins were struck at Philadelphia and Denver; San Francisco produced collector issues. Standard clad pieces weigh 5.670 grams, measure 24.26 mm, are 1.75 mm thick, and have a reeded edge.

Varieties

Wexler’s doubled-die files currently document two Philadelphia obverse doubled dies for this issue. Both use Washington’s earlobe as the principal pickup area, but they are separate dies and should be distinguished by their markers.

2009-P GU WDDO-001

Do You Have One? What To Look For:

Confirm a P mintmark, then inspect the underside of Washington’s earlobe. Wexler describes doubling there for WDDO-001.

Use the die markers to confirm the attribution. Wexler records an obverse gouge below the left side of the U in TRUST, a gouge above the E in AMERICA, a die crack across the base of the bust and through the upper designer’s initials, and a small die chip to the right of the upper C in WC. On the reverse, Wexler records a gouge to the right of the upper 9 in 2009 and a die crack arcing northwest from the right side of the top of the island.

Wexler cross-references this variety as CONECA 1-O-VIII.

2009-P GU WDDO-002

Do You Have One? What To Look For:

Confirm a P mintmark and inspect the underside of Washington’s earlobe. Wexler describes the doubling on WDDO-002 as slight, so the die markers are particularly important.

Published obverse markers include a light crack through the designer’s initials, a thin scratch through UA in QUARTER, crisscrossing die scratches through TE in UNITED, and a gouge between the bust and the O in DOLLAR. The reverse marker listed by Wexler is a gouge below the left side of the M in GUAM.

Wexler lists no known cross-reference for WDDO-002.

Errors versus varieties

A doubled die is repeatable on coins struck from the same affected die. Individual mint errors include off-center strikes, clipped planchets, wrong planchets, missing clad layers, brockages, multiple strikes, and struck-through material.

Minor die chips and cracks may be genuine Mint-made die-state features without being one of the two Wexler WDDOs. Weak lettering, softened island contours, or missing-looking details are not enough by themselves to establish an error or variety. Post-mint scratches, impacts, corrosion, flattened devices, and displaced metal are damage.

How to examine a 2009 Guam quarter

Confirm the 2009 date and mintmark.
On a Philadelphia coin, inspect Washington’s earlobe under 5×–10× magnification.
If doubling is present, compare the die markers with WDDO-001 and WDDO-002 rather than attributing from the earlobe alone.
Inspect the reverse island outline, GUAM lettering, and date for the published reverse markers.
Use diffuse light and rotate the coin.
Require raised, repeatable die detail rather than glare, scratches, or flat machine doubling.
Photograph the full obverse, reverse, and diagnostic close-up.
Do not clean the coin.

Diagnostic artwork standard

Use a normal Guam quarter as the location map. The primary enlargement belongs at Washington’s earlobe, followed by smaller marker callouts that distinguish WDDO-001 from WDDO-002. The Guam reverse should be used to locate the published date, island-outline, and GUAM die markers. No contour should be invented from an unattributed image.

Sources

Looking to buy or check current prices for this coin?Search it on CoinHunt →