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"Extended Vertical Lines in the Reverse Shield of Liberty Seated Quarters"; Robert A. Izydore, The
Gobrecht Journal, published by the Liberty Seated Collectors Club, Volume 16 Issue #47, 33-35,
March, 1990.

  Several articles have appeared in recent issues of the Journal describing examples of Liberty
Seated coins on which vertical lines in the reverse shield have extended up into the horizontal lines.
(1,2,3) To date, examples representing half dollars and dollars have been reported, but no examples
representing quarters have appeared in the Journal. In Issue #43 of the Journal, John McCloskey
proposed a numbering system for recording the line patterns of extended reverse shield lines on
Liberty Seated coins and gave an example of the use of this system for a previously reported
1844-0 half dollar.(4)

  In July 1988, the writer observed a dramatic pattern of extended reverse shield lines on a newly
purchased 1844 quarter and subsequently examined the Liberty Seated quarters in his collection
for this characteristic with the use of a stereo microscope. The extended line patterns on the
quarters that showed this phenomenon were tabulated using a modified version of the numbering
system suggested earlier. The number of coins examined was limited, but the results are
informative. One example each of 39 different dates was studied. Each of the coins had a grade of
extremely fine or better.

  Table I gives the extended reverse shield line patterns that were observed. It was generally
necessary to rotate each coin under the microscope and view the reverse shield from different
angles in order to see all the extended shield lines. The reverse shield on Liberty Seated quarters
has six pairs of vertical lines. The line pattern for a given date consists of six pairs of numbers, with
each number representing a reverse shield line, starting from the left when the shield is viewed in
an upright position. The value of each number corresponds to the number of valleys through which
each vertical line extends. If a vertical line extends at least half way through a valley, it is tabulated
as having crossed the valley in order to avoid using fractional values. If a vertical line extends such
that only a trace of it is visible in a given valley, a superscript of + is used. For example, 2+
designates that the line crosses the first two valleys and a portion of it extends into the third valley.
Except for the use of + superscripts, the method of numbering is analogous to the method
previously suggested.

  In addition to the data provided in the table, some further observations have been made. Several
of the quarters have vertical shield lines that extend slightly below their normal position on the
shield. This feature was observed on lines 1-6, 8 and 10 on the 1841 quarter; lines 3 and 4 on the
1841-0 quarter; and lines 1-8 and 10 on the 1844 quarter. The first shield line of the 1847-0
quarter was observed to cross the second through fifth horizontal valleys, but it was not present in
the first valley. The 1841 quarter shows doubling of the first extended shield line. The line on the
left crosses two valleys, and the line on the right crosses three valleys. The extended shield lines
vary in their thickness. The photo of the 1844 quarter illustrates this. It would be tedious,
confusing, and possibly invalid to tabulate relative line thickness. The effects of die wear and strike
will tend to cause coins struck from the same die to look different.



Twelve of the quarters examined showed extended reverse shield line patterns. This number
represents 31% of the dates examined! No extended shield lines were observed for the 1839,
1850, 1853, 1854, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1870,1871,1873,1875, 1876-CC,
1876-8, 1877, 1877-CC, 1879, 1882, 1888-S, 1890, 1891, and 1891-S dates. None of the quarters
with dates after 1860 showed extended shield lines. Perhaps the shield lines were not engraved
individually into the dies after this date. Several of these latter quarters showed possible 0+ lines,
but it appeared that corrosion, contact marks, or debris were the most likely causes of the possible
extensions. Of the 22 quarters minted prior to 1860, 55% showed extended shield lines, and most
of these were minted prior to 1852. The line patterns observed were quite varied. Not surprisingly,
most of the extended lines crossed into the first horizontal valley. The data in the table suggests
that the vertical lines on the left side of the shield are the lines most likely to be extended.

  It can be concluded that extended reverse shield lines are common on Liberty Seated quarters
minted prior to 1860. Lines of this type can also be observed on the reverse shield of Capped Bust
quarters. It is interesting to speculate as to why the vertical shield lines in particular are commonly
found to be extended and not the horizontal shield lines or those found on the obverse shield. No
explanation will be offered here. Readers are encouraged to report to the Journal their
observations of line patterns that are identical to or different from those reported herein. This
information will help determine whether line patterns can be reliably used to identify reverse dies
as has been suggested earlier.4

  The picture of the 1844 quarter was taken by Dr. Halbert Carmichael.

1BiII Fivaz, The Gobrecht Journal, Issue #40, page 17 {1987}.
2Brian Greer, The Gobrecht Journal, Issue #41, page 28 (1988).
3Lawrence N. Rogak, The Gobrecht Journal, Issue #43, page 11 (1988).
4John McCloskey, The Gobrecht Journal, Issue #43, page 9 (1988).

   Table 1. Liberty Seated Quarters Showing Extended Vertical Lines in Reverse Shield

           Date                    Reverse Shield Pattern in Line Pairs
                                     1           2           3           4           5            6
           1838                1 , 1      1 , 0      0 , 0+    0 , 0      0+, 0      0+, 0
           1841                3 , 1      1+, 0+   3 , 1      1 , 1      1 , 2       0+. 2+
           1841-O            1 , 1      1 , 1      2 , 2       3 , 0      0+, 2      0 , 2
           1844                4 , 4+    1 , 3      4 , 4       3 , 4      3 , 2       2+, 2
           1845                3 , 2      0 , 0       0 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0
           1846                2 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0
           1847-O            5 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 3      1 , 1       0 , 0       0 , 0
           1850-O            1+, 0     0 , 0       0 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0
           1852                1 , 2+    0 , 0       0 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0
           1855-S             2 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0
           1857-O            0 , 1       0 , 0       0 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0
           1859-O            1 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0      0 , 0       0 , 0       0 , 0