The Valuable 1987 Quarter Errors — Complete Guide
The 1987 Washington Quarter lacks major named varieties in the Cherrypickers' Guide, but verified mint errors from this year can be worth far more than face value. From dramatic off-center strikes to subtle doubled-die obverses, these are the four most collectible error coins to search for in your pocket change and coin rolls.
Most Famous
$10 – $300+
1987-P Doubled Die Obverse (DDO)
The Doubled Die Obverse error occurred during the hub-to-die transfer process at the Philadelphia Mint. When the working die was hubbed, a slight angular misalignment between the hub and the die on a second impression caused design elements to be pressed into the die steel in two slightly offset positions.
The diagnostic result is a visible doubling — commonly described as a "shadow" or "ghost" effect — on the obverse lettering including "LIBERTY," "IN GOD WE TRUST," and sometimes the date digits themselves. Strong examples show clear, unambiguous separation between the primary design and its secondary impression, visible to the naked eye or under a 5× loupe.
Because the 1987-P DDO is not formally catalogued in the Cherrypickers' Guide with a FS-number, market values vary significantly based on doubling strength. Lightly doubled examples in circulated grades attract modest premiums, while strongly doubled, high-grade specimens captured attention at auctions, with records showing $150–$300 for MS-65 or higher examples. Any DDO merits a 10× examination before dismissal.
Most Dramatic
$20 – $500+
1987-P Quarter Off-Center Strike
An off-center strike occurs when a coin planchet shifts out of proper alignment within the collar before the dies descend to strike it. At the Philadelphia Mint in 1987, a small number of quarter blanks escaped the quality-control process and were struck with the obverse and reverse dies contacting the planchet off-axis.
The visual result is Washington's portrait displaced to one side of the coin, with a corresponding crescent of unstruck, flat metal on the opposite edge. Collectors measure off-center strikes as a percentage of the coin's diameter. A 10% shift produces a modest crescent; a 50%+ shift is dramatic, showing only part of the design while still (ideally) retaining the complete date — the most critical diagnostic feature for valuation purposes.
Value scales steeply with the percentage of the off-center shift and whether the full date survives. A modest 10–20% shift with full date starts around $20–$40. Jumps to 50%+ off-center with a complete visible date push values to $150–$500 or more. One exceptional example with 60%+ misalignment and a full date reportedly sold for over $800 at a specialty auction, per published error coin research, though this should be verified by a professional authenticator before relying on it for valuation.
Best Kept Secret
$20 – $200+
1987-P Quarter Clipped Planchet
Clipped planchet errors originate before the coin is ever struck — they are defects in the metal blank itself. During the planchet preparation process, metal strips are fed through a blanking press that punches out circular discs. If the strip advances incorrectly and a subsequent punch overlaps a previously punched hole, the resulting blank has a curved section missing from its edge, producing a characteristic "clip" in the finished coin.
On a 1987-P clipped planchet quarter, this manifests as a smooth, curved bite taken out of the coin's rim, with the normal reeded edge absent at the clip location. A key authentication diagnostic is the Blakesley Effect: directly opposite the clip, the design strike will be notably weaker or flat — a result of insufficient metal flow during striking. This effect confirms genuine mint origin versus post-mint damage.
Clipped planchets come in multiple subtypes — curved clips (most common), straight clips (from the strip's edge), and multiple clips (highest value). Straight clips or double clips are rarer and more desirable. Small clips under 10% of the coin's diameter add $20–$50 over face value. Larger, dramatic single clips push into the $75–$200 range, and a confirmed double curved clip on a 1987-P was reportedly bid to approximately $175 at online auction per published error coin data.
Rarest
$10 – $200+
1987-S Proof Die Crack Error
The 1987-S proof quarters were struck at the San Francisco Mint using specially prepared, highly polished dies to create the characteristic mirror-like fields and frosted design elements that define proof coinage. Despite this extra care, proof dies are not immune to failure — under the cumulative stress of repeated high-pressure strikes, even precision-polished dies can develop hairline fractures, called die cracks, or more severe failures called die breaks or cuds.
On a proof coin, die cracks appear as raised, irregular lines crossing the mirror-polished fields or through design elements. Because the reflective fields of a proof coin are so visually prominent, even a minor die crack stands out dramatically against the flawless background. More severe failures — where a section of the die actually breaks away — leave a large, blob-like raised area called a cud, typically at the coin's rim, and these are the most dramatic and valuable die-failure errors.
Proof die crack examples from 1987-S add modest premiums to the standard proof value for minor cracks, typically $10–$30 above the base PR grade value. Dramatic die breaks or cud errors, depending on their size and visual impact, can push values to $75–$200 or beyond. Because 1987-S proof quarters start with a base value of $2–$14 in standard grades, the addition of a significant die error meaningfully increases both collector interest and realized prices at auction.
