The Famous Spitting Eagle : Die crack or die clash?

I'm sure many of you have heard about the "Spitting Eagle", the famous 1983 P Washington Quarter with what looks like a spitting eagle on the reverse. Many people search for this coin. Many people have found one. These are fairly common, and in average circulated condition, command a small premium. I have seen high grades sell for decent money though. There is, however, some question about what it's cause is. A simple Google search will show you many pictures as well as articles about the subject. You will see headlines like NGC Recognizes 1983 P Spitting Eagle Quarters. You can also read these articles which call this a variety and explain that it is a die crack. Here is where I disagree. With special thanks to Maya Rivera who provided photos of a 1970 D, and Pete Apple who did the overlay, I will show you that the Spitting Eagle is in fact due to a die clash, which also means that it is an error, not a variety. This also means that it can occur on any Washington Quarter minted from 1932 through 1998, from any mint, including proofs but excluding the Bi-Centennial quarters minted in 1975 and 1976. This is the definition of a die clash according to error-ref.com.

This mishap occurs when opposing dies collide with each other when a planchet fails to be fed into the striking chamber.  Most complete planchet misfeeds don’t result in clashed dies because dies normally don’t touch each other in the absence of a planchet.  The dies operate with a safety margin that can be referred to as minimum die clearance or minimum die distance.  These terms refer to the closest approach the dies make to each other in the absence of a planchet.  In order for dies to clash, the dies must have fallen out of adjustment so that their minimum clearance is zero (or less than zero).


Below, I have created a visual with an overlay to show you why this is a die clash, and not a die crack. Honestly, that makes it even more collectible in my opinion, but I wish companies like NGC, or Cherrypicker's guide would also recognize that this error is not limited to just one year. Click on the picture to enlarge.