⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

Quarters From One U.S. State and Year Could Be Worth $6,000. Are You a (Very Lucky) Accidental Collector? It's unclear if their creation was intentional, but they're worth a whole lot anyway.

By Amanda Breen

entrepreneur daily
JGI/Jamie Grill | Getty Images

Check your couch cushions or wherever you keep your spare change — because you just might be the owner of a very specific quarter from 2004 that's worth thousands of dollars.

That's right: Wisconsin state quarters from the 50 State Quarters Program display a limited-edition design that increases in value if there are noticeable variations in that design, according to coin collectors, Fox Business reported.

Related: Rare Penny Sells for $1.1 Million. Do You Have One? | Entrepreneur

So what are you looking for, exactly? The front of the coin shows a cow, a peeled husk of corn and a sliced wheel of cheese along with inscriptions denoting the state, the year Wisconsin joined the union (1848) and Wisconsin's state motto — the word "Forward."

Additionally, the specific coins in question have a small design anomaly that features an extra leaf, pointing up or down on the corn husk. Collectors are divided over if the difference was intentional.

"The normal cause would be metal shavings accidentally lodged in the die, creating a gouge from the coin striking action," Littleton Coin Company wrote on its website. "However, because roughly equal quantities exist of the two varieties, some experts speculate that the extra leaves were deliberately created by someone at the Denver Mint — as the odds of such a similar event occurring on the same location on two different dies are astronomical."

Related: How the Official Coin Maker of 'Game of Thrones' and 'Lord of the Rings' Got Started

One of the 2004 Wisconsin quarters with an additional "low leaf" was auctioned for a record $6,000 in January 2020; one with an extra "high leaf" was auctioned for a record $2,530 in July 2006, per Fox Business.

Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a senior features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.