State Quarter Die Sets

Yes, the dies sold for the State Quarter series were reverse dies and they included one of the first coins struck with that die( a true First Strike coin) and a COA stating the reason for die retirement along with the number of coins struck by that die. The top surface is where the design once resided so it took the removal of several millimeters of metal to remove the design completely. I have seen some older San Francisco Lincoln Cent dies from the 1960s that had a different design removal method- they were torched, essentially removing the design by melting the steel although sometimes there were a few traces left.

The only dies sold in recent history that had any measure of design left were the Olympic Commemorative dies of 1995-96. Those were cancelled dies so the majority of the design is still present. Since they were commemoratives, there were only a limited number of dies available and they are quite valuable today, selling for $500-1000. There is one currently for sale on 140400542690