1952 25C "Superbird" FS-901 (Proof)

Jaime Hernandez: In 1952 there were not that many channels to watch, so most people who owned a T.V. were very familiar with the very popular Superman T.V. show.

It is strongly believed that a Mint employee, who was probably also a big fan of Superman himself, deliberately struck an S mint mark on the reverse die of a 1952 proof Washington quarter. Consequently, all 1952 proof quarters struck from this die also contained the S mint mark on the eagle’s chest.

Because of the prominent S mint mark located on the eagles chest, this popular variety is now widely recognized as the Superbird variety.

It is believed that there were about 15,000 proof Washington quarters struck with the Superbird variety. Therefore, probably about about 1/5 of the entire mintage of 1952 proof quarters display the Superbird design.

In 1984 Val J. Webb wrote a book on Proof Cameo coins where it mentioned the nickname of the Superbird variety and this is how and when the variety first became widely recognized.

Popularity: Amongst Washington quarter variety collectors, this is a very desirable variety, especially in extremely high grades or coins which display a cameo or deep cameo appearance.

Condition: The 1952 Superbird variety is mostly common in grades of PR65 and PR66. In grades of PR67 it becomes very challenging to locate and probably less than 400 coins of this variety exist in PR67 or higher.

Cameo: Superbird 1952 Washington Quarters displaying cameo fields are considered scarce and probably no more than 200 examples in all grades combined display full cameo surfaces.

Deep Cameo: Superbird 1952 Washington Quarters with a deep cameo designation become extremely scarce as there are probably less than 10 coins in existence displaying the full deep cameo surfaces in all grades combined.