Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Coin Errors (Part 1) - Introduction

Error coins are a fascinating aspect of numismatics, with each one telling a unique story of a mistake made during the coin manufacturing process. These coins can exhibit a variety of issues, from being struck off-center to having the wrong planchet type or thickness.

One common cause of error coins is damage to the coin die, which can result in multiple coins being produced with the same error. Whether the die is cracked from overuse or was not made correctly in the first place, these mistakes can lead to a range of interesting and valuable error coins entering circulation.

Classification of Error Coins
There are three different classifications of error coins. Some error coins may have a combination of these problems.

Die:
A coin die is a hardened piece of metal that is used to strike the coins in the coining press. Any coin die that is not made in adherence to Mint standards. This may include preproduction errors and damage to the coin die during the coining process.

Planchet:
Any problem with the planchet that the coin was made on. This may include incomplete planchet, wrong metal, cracked, chipped, clipped, or thickness.

Strike:
Any problem with the physical production of the coin in the coining press. There is numerous classifications of errors that are due to the improper striking of a coin. Examples include off-center strikes, multiple strikes, rotated dies, misaligned dies, weak strikes, overstrikes, etc.

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