What the heck is an error coin and how do I find one?
Normally when you find a coin straight from the mint it is pristine and shiny. On a rare occasion, error coins can slip through the cracks and end up in circulation. These error coins are usually known as mint made errors which are errors that are made during the minting process. Mint error coins can be the result of faulty minting equipment, accidents or malfunctions. These are some of our favorite mint errors.
How are coins made at the mint and how do errors occur?
Each individual coin is stamped on a metal disc which is known as a blank. A blank is then struck to add a raised edge or rim which then the blank is called a planchet. The planchet is placed into a slot where the coin is struck with it’s final design and sent to be rolled. The errors can occur in all types scenarios. The minting errors can be a result of faulty equipment when it has been used for a very long time and the dies become wore down and start to malfunction. This is normally caught very quickly by mint employees so it’s fairly rare to find error coins in circulation. Although when you do, the coins can be worth a fairly good sum of money depending on how rare and sought after the particular variation is!
What are the most common error types for coins?
Blank Planchet
A blank planchet is a type of error that will occur when the coin is skipped in production and is not struck. The coin proceeds to be rolled and sent into circulation. This simply means that the coin has no design on it and looks completely smooth with or without a raised edge. A blank planchet would likely only be valuable to a collector as it’s likely a cashier would not accept it as legal tender since there are no markings on the coin. These can be a rare find but still can be found in circulation through rolls and just receiving them in your change on accident.
Clipped Planchet
When coin blanks are created, they are punched from large thin metal sheets using a powerful metal press. When the metal sheet is stamped into blanks it is fed through these large presses. If the sheet of metal fails to be fed far enough ahead into the press, the punch will overlap an already punched area causing that planchet to have a circular “clip” of missing metal. A good way to tell if the coin is an error or simply damage that occurred outside the mint is to look for signs of metal flow into the blank area. This would indicate a genuine clip. This will appear as weakness and thinness around the missing metal. A genuine clipped coin error will never show a raised edge of metal bordering the missing metal and the details bordering the area of missing metal should not have very good details.
Wrong planchet
A wrong planchet error will occur when the coin is stamped on the incorrect coin planchet. This error is exactly what the name indicates – a coin struck on a planchet intended for another denomination. The incorrect planchet may have the same composition, such as a quarter struck on a dime planchet; or it may be a different composition. This for example could be a quarter struck on a nickel planchet.
An off-metal error is when a coin struck on a planchet whose composition does not match the composition that normally characterizes the coin. This for example could be a quarter struck on a penny planchet.
Lamination Crack
A lamination error occurs when pieces of metal flake off the surface of a coin or planchet. It is normally found that the flaking, peeling, and cracking is due to impurities in the alloy which cause metal to separate along horizontal planes of weakness. A retained lamination error is another type of lamination error that the main flake of metal remains attached to the body of the coin.
Broad Strike
A broad strike is when a perfectly round and centered planchet is struck out of collar. Having the struck coin inside the collar is a very important step. Essentially the coin is being stamped under a lot of pressure which causes the outside of the coin in all directions. If the collar is not applied this will likely be what happens to the coin.
Off Center Strike
An off center strike is produced when the coin is struck only once. The resulting strike is as the name states is off center. Unlike the previous error called a broad strike, the punch is not in the center of the coin but rather on the edge. This usually ends up producing a coin that is not round.
Multiple strike
When a blank planchet is struck by the die, it is then pushed out by a small trigger called a coin ejector. If the coin ejector malfunctions or is unable to remove the coin after stamping, the coin may be re-stamped causing the multiple strike error. Coins have been know to receive two to even three additional strikes. Multiple strike coins can happy in a multitude of ways and have many combinations and different variations.
Strike Through
A strike through error is when the full strike detail of the coin is not achieved. This occurs when the planchet is coated or obscured by some sort of grease or fallen debris and other foreign objects. Debris can fall from inside the machines and land in the coin collar during stamping. Oil can fall into this area too as it is used to lubricate the dies while stamping the coins. Coins have been found to have all sorts of struck through items ranging from springs, screws, and all kinds of mechanical items and debris. You might ask, how is so much debris flying around? Mints are factories with lots of equipment and moving parts minting millions of the same coins. Each machine can contain thousands of parts. Some older machines may be dripping grease, bolts, screws, and random debris. There are lots of things which could break off, come loose, or accidentally be fed into a press striking coins.
Double Denomination
A coin with a double denomination error is one that has been struck twice between different denomination dies. An example would be between nickel dies and again between quarter dies. The term is sometimes used to refer to a coin struck on the wrong planchet.
One of the most expensive and desired type of error is the double denomination coins. This error happens when a coin is struck on a previously struck coin of a smaller denomination. Examples are a cent on a struck dime or a nickel on a struck cent. The most dramatic are those with considerable design visible from the original strike.
Doubled Die
The double die error is the most common error of all coin errors. The coin die that strikes double died coins has a partial or fully doubled image on it. This makes the coin have two identical images that are slightly offset. The common misconception is that a double die is a coin that has been stamped twice. This is actually false. A double die occurs when there is an error in the production of the coin mold being used to stamp the coin.
Coin collectors will likely examine and notate which side the double die appears on. A double die is normally identified by two terms being “DDO” or “DDR”. This is referring to which side the coins error appears.
- DDO: Double Die Obverse (Front)
- DDR: Double Die Reverse (Back).
There are varying levels of double die errors. The more apparent the doubling is, the more valuable the coin will be. There are many common double die examples that are rare and sought after but the most common is likely the 1955 Double Die wheat cent. This was the coin that sparked an era of collecting error coins from the mint as other coin errors were never as noticeable as this.
Be wary when collecting coins with errors and make sure they are validated by an expert coin collector before purchasing them. These are the most commonly counterfeited coins as they can be extremely valuable if owned.
What does the mint do with error coins when they find them?
Waffled Coin
When a coin is deemed scrap and is not to be sent into circulation, the coin is either melted down or made into a small keepsake scrap-type coin known as a “waffle coin.” These fun scrap coins have no real monetary value. They are normally made by sending a coin into a press with different horizontal and vertical stamping lines. Once the coin goes through the press it comes out in a very bent geometric shape resembling the indentations on a waffle. The coin is no longer considered legal tender like this and would be unusable in any type of machine that takes coins as forms of payment. These are considered scrap by the US mint and they are not usable as currency.
Waffle coins can be very collectible and sought out by collectors. Specifically ones who buy coins directly from the U.S. Mint and it’s distributors. Waffle coins are collected by many collectors, but there are also collectors who claim they are junk and not worth anything. If someone wants to pay you money for them, I would have to agree and say they are collectible and not junk.