Types of Coin Collecting Errors

Well, folks, there are a variety of ways to collect coins. You could concentrate on a particular period, coin category, or coin collecting errors, or perhaps you’re searching for some investment prospects.

No matter what your objective is, knowing the various types of errors discovered on coins can enhance your collecting experience and make it more enjoyable!

Types of Coin Collecting Errors:

Strike Errors

When a coin comes out differently than intended, we call it a striking error. Sometimes the strike could be off-center, or the design may require alignment.

Furthermore, it is common for strikes to occur due to a damaged or worn die. There are two groups of strike errors: errors of excess and deficiency.

1. Broadstrike
   • When the collar die malfunctions, broadstrike errors occur. Plain edges are characteristic of broadstrike error coins.
2. Strike-Through
   • When we strike, a strike-through error occurs if an object gets between the blank and the die. When you press the object onto the blank’s surface, its outline will be imprinted. Well, you see, certain objects have the potential to get in between a blank and a die, such as metal shavings, other coins, and staples.
3. Uni-face Coin
   • This error occurs when two planchets are stacked during striking. So, what will happen is that one of the coins will have the obverse, and the other one will have the reverse. These might be off-centered.
4. Brockage
   • So what happens is that when the hammer die strikes a second blank, it leaves the image of the last blank on one side and sinks it into the opposite side. So, what happens is that most brockages end up being off-centered.
5. Edge Strike
   • Well, folks, we have two kinds of edge strike errors. So, the first thing that happens is that the blank bounces and ends up standing on its edge when struck. This particular move is commonly referred to as a standing edge strike. So, we have another type of strike called the chain edge strike. This happens when two blanks are inserted into the space between the dies simultaneously.
6. Multiple Strike
   • Double exposure is another term used to refer to them. So, what happens is that when the coin is struck again, it receives extra images, which leads to this error. This error is also commonly mistaken as doubled die.
7. Off-Center Strike
   • This error occurs when a coin is struck but off-center. The punch is not centered but on the coin’s edge, unlike the broadstrike. Due to this error, you can see empty planchet spaces.
8. Double Denomination
   • This error occurs when a coin gets struck twice with different denominations.
9. Struck on the Wrong Planchet
   • This error occurs when a coin is stamped with a design intended for other coins.
10. Edge and Rim Errors
    • This error occurs when collars are out of position or deteriorated.
11. Mated Pair or Set
    • A collection of two or more coins struck simultaneously.

Hub and Die Errors

The die malfunction is the reason behind the errors. Die crack, chip, clash, or break can cause them. It all depends on how the die is damaged and which part makes contact with the coin during striking.

1. Fundamental Die-Setting Error
   • An error occurs when the die is not set as the producer intended.
2. Missing Design Elements
   • Dates, mintmarks, and other elements can result from a missing design element error. This error occurs when dies are tilted and do not strike the planchet face-on.
3. Doubled Die
   • A doubled die coin is a coin that receives an additional, misaligned impression from the hub.
4. Die Cracks, Die Breaks & Die Chips
   • Dies can crack during minting, which results in coins with die cracks. Die cracks and die breaks can be hard to distinguish from one another. Die chips are coins, also known as cuds.
5. Die Clash
   • This error occurs when the obverse and reverse dies are damaged upon striking each other without a planchet between them. Due to tremendous pressure, parts of the image may be impressed on the other side of the coin.
6. MAD Clash
   • A MAD clash occurs when the obverse and reverse die to strike each other while misaligned.
7. Punching Errors
   • Punches placed in a different position between strikes will produce a doubled image called a repunch.
8. Overdates and Overmintmarks
   • In the past, mints used dies until they broke. Then, at the beginning of the year, mints punched a new date over the old on dies that were in use. For 19th-century coins, it is difficult to call an overdate an “error” as it resulted from the intentional recycling of the die.
9. Trails
   • Lines, called trails, transfer to coins from dies made using the modern high-pressure “single pressing” process.
10. Misaligned Dies
    • Dies must be properly aligned in presses to strike coins correctly. Errors occur when dies are offset, tilted, or rotated. Offset errors occur when the hammer die is not centered over the anvil die, typically resulting in an off-centered obverse but a centered reverse.
11. Mules
    • A coin struck with dies designed for different coin denominations or a coin struck with two dies that both lack a minting year, resulting in a ‘dateless’ coin.

Planchet Errors

A planchet is a blank disk of metal that gets struck by the die. Errors can happen during this process, and there are many variations of planchet errors that you can find in coins. Some examples include:

1. Planchet Clip
   • A planchet clip is a piece of leftover metal from the blanking process. The planchet clip is usually a tiny piece of metal and can be as small as a penny. It usually appears in the shape of a coin but with no design or lettering. Planchet clips are often sharp, so they can cut you if you need to be more careful when handling them.
2. Planchet Lamination
   • Planchet lamination is a standard error when the metal strip used to make the coin is too thin. If this happens, lamination can occur around one or both sides of the coin. The result will be some separation between where they were struck together, which makes it appear that there are two coins stuck together at times.
3. Off-Center Planchet
   • Off-center planchet errors occur when a coin is struck on a planchet that is not correctly centered on the anvil die. This error results in one side of the coin having less metal than the other, resulting in uneven thickness and weight.
4. Blank Planchet
   • Coins that the Mint releases without being struck.
5. Split Planchet
   • A split planchet coin error occurs when impurities such as gas, dirt, or grease become trapped under the surface of the metal blank, creating a weakness or lamination defect during the preparation of the planchet strip.
6. Cladding Flaw
   • Many modern coins are made of layers of metals known as clads. These cladding layers sometimes peel, fold, or completely separate.

Related Articles:

• What are the Different Types of Coin Errors?