2004-D Texas

Denver's 2004 Texas quarter shares Norman E. Nemeth's clean reverse with its Philadelphia counterpart: the state outline with a single Lone Star anchored over the central plains and a lariat tracing the silhouette in cowboy-rope coil pattern, with "The Lone Star State" arcing above. Texas ratified its statehood in December 1845 as the twenty-eighth state, and the June 1 release placed the coin at mid-2004 in the program's second-half rollout sequence. Denver struck 263,000,000 pieces, trailing Philadelphia by roughly 16 million and giving the 2004 Texas pair the year's largest P-over-D split. Nemeth's spare composition reads with unusual clarity at quarter scale because only three devices share the reverse field, a contrast with the high-element-count Florida coin released two months earlier.

Denver strikes on Texas tend to come up well-defined on early-die-state coins. The star's five points and the lariat's rope-twist coil resolve cleanly when dies are fresh; the interior knot work in the lariat is the first place to soften on late-die-state strikes because that section carries the design's finest engraving. The state outline holds up across die life because it sits in lower relief than the central devices. Washington's cheek and the field behind the head remain the obverse weak points for grading, with Denver bag handling scattering small marks across these areas and capping many candidates at MS66. PCGS and NGC populations are deep at MS66, narrower at MS67, and scarce at MS68 in the population reports kept by the two major third-party grading services (TPGs). No FS-listed varieties have anchored to the issue.

The 2004-D Texas combines design economy with broad regional appeal, and the Lone Star icon gives the coin display weight beyond the registry-set audience. Roll searchers still pull premium strikes for full-detail gems, and MS67 Denver examples remain available for collectors building a top-grade program run on a working budget. The design pairs naturally with the other Southwestern state coins in regional sets. For wider context, see the 50 State Quarters series history.