2004-D Wisconsin Extra Leaf Quarter

Specifications

Denomination: 25c
Series: 50 State Quarters (1999-2008)
Designer: John Flanagan (obverse); Alfred Maletsky (Wisconsin reverse)
Years of issue: 2004
Composition: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Weight: 5.67 g
Diameter: 24.3 mm
Edge: Reeded
Mint marks: D (Denver)
Key mintages: No separate mintage — die variety of the 2004-D Wisconsin quarter; parent Denver issue mintage 226,800,000 (GreatCollections; Wikipedia). Two varieties: Extra Leaf High and Extra Leaf Low (Denver only).

Melt value: $0.07copper $0.44/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of a genuine coin.

No separate mintage — a two-die Denver mystery averaging $250–$300, hiding inside a 226.8-million-coin Wisconsin run.

History

The varieties were discovered in Tucson, Arizona (by Bob Ford, late 2004) and ignited a national pocket-change treasure hunt in early 2005 (Indian Cent; GreatCollections; accessed 2026-09-16)
Two Denver dies were affected, producing the High Leaf and Low Leaf varieties — long, narrow, curved extra leaf-like marks beside the ear of corn (Indian Cent; GreatCollections; accessed 2026-09-16)
The cause was never settled: theories range from accidental die gouges (curved metal shavings lodged in the die) to deliberate die modification — the U.S. Mint denied any design change (Wikipedia; Numismatic News; accessed 2026-09-16)
The variety carries no separate mintage: it came from a small number of dies within Denver’s 226,800,000-coin 2004 Wisconsin production (GreatCollections; accessed 2026-09-16)
Early-2005 hype was extreme: a three-coin set sold for $300 on eBay in February 2005 and individual coins briefly touched ~$1,500; by February 2020 PCGS listed MS-62 examples at $92–$130 (Wikipedia; accessed 2026-09-16)

Two distinct die varieties, Denver only: Extra Leaf High and Extra Leaf Low (Numismatic News; GreatCollections; accessed 2026-09-16)
NGC and PCGS attribute both varieties (PCGS industry #814033 for Extra Leaf Low); the market relies on grading-service attribution (GreatCollections; accessed 2026-09-16)
Parent-issue Denver mintage: 226,800,000 — the variety has no mintage of its own (GreatCollections; Wikipedia; accessed 2026-09-16)

High Leaf vs Low Leaf diagnostics: the High Leaf’s extra leaf-like mark rises higher, appearing to sprout from near the cheese block; the Low Leaf’s mark sits lower, piercing through the center of the corn husk and out into the field — on both, the mark is die-struck (raised), not added later (Numismatic News; GreatCollections; accessed 2026-09-16)
Only Denver strikes can be genuine — a Philadelphia (no-mintmark) 2004 Wisconsin quarter can never be an extra leaf; always check the D mintmark first (GreatCollections; accessed 2026-09-16)
Fakes are tooled or engraved leaves added to normal coins after striking: look for raised, die-consistent metal flow vs. carved or pushed-up tool marks — the market relies on NGC/PCGS attribution, so buy slabbed (GreatCollections; Numismatic News; accessed 2026-09-16)