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Littleton Finds Scarce New Coin Error on 2026 Quarter Design

As if 2026 wasn’t already one for the collecting record books…

You’re already aware that we’ve been gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary (Semiquincentennial) of the United States. Here at Littleton, you can just feel the excitement over new releases – those that are here, and the ones still to come!

But recently, one of our inventory specialists made a discovery that stopped us all in our tracks.

An exciting find

The newly-minted Mayflower Compact 2026 quarters arrived in-house, and Greg had just started preparing some for packaging when he noticed something… different. At the base of the obverse design was a struck-through error! The majority of the examples we’ve found show a noticeable impression running through the dual dating (1776-2026) and the wording in god we trust.

“I was excited by the find,” said Greg. “There’s a thrill in finding coins like this! First thing I did was run the few I found to our coin buyers to make them aware.”

Our Chief Coin Buyer, Ken Westover, was equally as impressed. “The U.S. Mint produces billions of coins annually and the number of errors escaping their quality control is an extremely small number, so finding such an error is rare today.” Westover added that the impression likely occurred from a foreign element stuck to the design die.

Behind the design

The Mayflower Compact was a contract signed on board the Mayflower in 1620. Historians regard it as the earliest agreement on self-governance based on mutual consent and majority rule, and the foundational document that informed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

This contract is honored on the first of five new 2026 quarter designs. The obverse depicts a Pilgrim couple facing west. The Mayflower ship – upon which early English settlers journeyed in search of religious freedom – is featured on the reverse. Dubbed the “Spirit of 76” error due to its placement over the 1776 date (and in honor of the 250th anniversary of the U.S.), this struck-through error is impressive. It’s easy to spot, and there’s no doubt that it’s going to be wildly popular with collectors.