While sorting through his change recently, he came across a very different coin. It is a Commemorative New Jersey State Quarter, one in the series of new quarters created by the U.S. Mint. But even as a new coin, this one sported many differences that make it stand out.

The front of the quarter is missing the word “America,” plus the “in” and “we” in “In God We Trust.”

There are also many peculiar things on the back. The “New” in “New Jersey” and the “1” in 1787 are missing. Also, you can barely see the “of” in “Crossroads of the Revolution” and the “e” in “the” of the same phrase is overly shiny.

Blackwood believes that with so many things altered or missing, the quarter should be worth more than 25 cents. You never know, it might be one of a kind, says the Cooleemee resident who works for Wal-Mart.

The U.S. Mint can’t say what an odd coin is worth, James Ruffin, a spokesperson for the Mint, says.

According to the New Jersey Quarter Web site, the United States Mint began their Commemorative State coins in December 1998. The first was Delaware, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut. The Mint will produce five state coins per year for 10 years. North Carolina’s quarter won’t go into circulation until mid-2001.

Typically, the front of the New Jersey quarter looks like an average quarter, but the back is very different.

The back of the coin features Emmanuel Leutze’s painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” with the inscription “Crossroads of the Revolution.” The state used that phrase as a moniker during the country’s Bicentennial in 1976.

Gov. Christine Todd Whitman picked the design of the coin.

Ruffin says Mint inspectors must have overlooked Blackwood’s flawed coin. When they catch a flaw, Mint employees recycle them as normal coins.

Apparently Blackwood isn’t alone in finding abnormal state quarters.

Ruffin says there is currently an unconfirmed case of a man in South Carolina who claims to have seven Pennsylvania state quarters with a rotated reverse. A rotated reverse occurs when a coin’s back isn’t at its typical position of 6 o’ clock, but the head on the front is still at the standard 12 o’ clock position.

A rotated reverse can occur in any type of coin, but many can be tampered with to make them appear that way, says Ruffin. So it can be hard to tell whether the flaw is real or not.

The Mint takes no action if a flawed coin makes it into circulation. Also, the agency doesn’t keep track of the different kinds of errors that people report.

Blackwood has spoken to people who have wanted to buy the coin.

“I would like to sell it,” he says.

It is very rare with the Mint’s careful inspection of coins to find a flawed coin in your pocket. So for anyone who does find an abnormal coin, consider yourself lucky. You could even find that your strange coin could be worth more than you think.