Recent Finds

"Recent Finds ..."
Archive
(2003-2008)
Items are posted in the order they were stripped from the homepage -
this may not necessarily be in the order that they appeared.

~~"Oh, No It Ain't ...!"~~
"Oh, Yes It Is ...!"
by Ken Potter -- NLG
Photos © Ken Potter 2008

    May 03, 2008 -- Everybody makes mistakes and the major grading services are no exception. Here is a 1946-S Roosevelt dime that I originally sold to one of my customers properly attributed on the holder that I shipped it to him in as Doubled Die Reverse #5 (5-R-II-C) - RPM#4 S/S/S NW & NE.
    When the buyer submitted the coin to one of the major third party grading services he was surprised when it came back attributed generically for the RPM as a simple S/S (with no designation that it was a triple S and no RPM number assigned) along with a packaging slip that stated that it did not contain a doubled die reverse. Of course this placed me in a bad light as the submitter came back casting a suspicious eye on the attribution I had made and it had to make him wonder about other coins I had sold him as doubled dies that he had not yet certified.
    After assuring him that what he purchased was indeed a genuine and listed doubled die I asked to have it returned so that the issue could be resolved by me personally. The coin is highlighted above in the images of the doubled die and repunched mintmark that are present on this coin. While lighter doubling can be found in other areas, the strongest doubling evident is on ERICA of AMERICA, DIME, NUM of UNUM and the right oak leaves above. It's not a monster doubled die but it is an obvious one to anybody who knows how to examine a coin for a doubled die and normally should be easily spotted. However in all fairness to the attributer it should be pointed out that it is one of those doubled dies where much of the doubling doesn't jump out at you unless it is viewed up-side-down. The tripling of the Mintmark is obvious! So what happened? Your guess is as good as mine but it is clear that they fumbled the ball on this one not just on the doubled die but also on the status of the RPM! The lesson here is that mistakes can happen and if you are convinced you are correct then a second opinion from a specialist such as a CONECA Examiner/Attributer may be in order.
    The listing for this coin can be found in Richard's Roosevelt Dime Review -- The Silver Years on page 70 (more info on the book's availability can be had from Richard Bateson at P.O. Box 86, Grand Blanc, MI 48439-0086 by sending a SASE) . Free-access to an enhanced online version of Richard Bateson's book can be found here: http://www.richardsrooseveltreview.net

Photos © Ken Potter 2008/Coin courtesy of Jim Proctor
Doubling of the Lincoln Statue is quite pronounced!

February 15, 2008 -- After nearly four months of readers searching, a second example of a major 1982 doubled die reverse cent has finally been uncovered. Numismatic News reader Jim Proctor of Vermont reported it. It bears the small date obverse and is struck on a pure copper-plated zinc core planchet - as was the original find.

Note to authors/publishers: CONECA is interested in publishing news releases highlighting current stories published elsewhere that are associated with error-variety coins and/or the minting process. Interested authors/publishers are encouraged to send an abstract along with a photo or more and details of when and where the article was published to the CONECA webmaster at: conecawebsite@koinpro.com (please -- only email submissions).

April 26, 2008 -- This 2004 Pakistan 5 rupees coin was brockaged by a struck fragment that had a perfectly square outline. The coin comes from Fred Weinberg and photos are by Mike Diamond. Thanks guys!!! KP

April 09, 2008 -- CONECA President, Mike Diamond sent in a couple neat errors to show us all. He describes the first one (above) as "A heavily worn, double-struck Buffalo nickel. The first strike was normal while the second strike was slightly off-center. Both strikes show the same clash marks. That would seem to support its authenticity, as does the pattern of overlap between first and second strikes."

Second we have a wheatback cent struck through a split, capped die. The die cap left a late-stage brockage of the reverse design on the obverse face. The ridge fades out in the center where it joins a poorly defined swelling. It's probably a zone of die subsidence (sunken die), but it could represent an interior die break or a retained interior die break. Neat Mike! Keep 'em coming!

May 24, 2008 -- Joe Thompson of Phoenix, AZ reports: "I was doing some cleaning and found a jar of coins in one of the closets. I found this inside (referring to the Off Center struck Jefferson five-cent piece above). Off Center strikes are created when a feeder mechanism fails to deposit a blank or planchet perfectly centered within the striking area. Now why can't I get that lucky! KP

May 24, 2008 -- In reference to the "In Collar Double Strike" Madison dollar that was reported to us several weeks ago, Ben Onorato followed up by saying, that he had read the article on the CONECA website about the error than Jeff Makkos of Ohio found back in March. "Well, I found one myself about a month ago in an eight-coin P&D Presidential Mint Set while cherrypicking for high grade satin coins for my PCGS Registry Set. Boy was I surprised! At first I thought it was an impression from the coin transferred onto the plastic protecting the coin" said Onorato. He took the liberty of enclosing some nice photos of his coin so that we could follow up. He sent the coin into PCGS for attribution and grading. Nice find Ben!
This is the third one reported to us so far on 2007-P Madison dollar taken from an eight-coin Presidential Mint Set! (We were supplied with no photos of the second one so it remains unconfirmed.) In our March report on the first one we suggested that there was a possibility that more might exist if certain conditions were present during the striking process. So far we have at least two and possibly three with none reported for any of the other Presidential dollars or Mints. Is anybody else finding them? Scroll down several stories to read about the Makkos find for more details on the error type, possible causes, estimates of value, etc.

Recent Finds ...
Collector Finds Double Struck Dollar Error
In Gov. Issued Mint Set!
by Ken Potter - NLG
All Photos by Jeff Makkos

April 07, 2008 -- Jeff Makkos of Ohio reports finding a Double Struck 2007-P James Madison dollar in a government issued Mint Set. The type of double strike involved is what errorists refer to as an In-Collar Double Strike with Rotation Between Strikes. The cause may be due to two different scenarios. The first possibility is that the coin was first struck normally and then reentered the coining area falling back into or over the collar where it was forced back in by a second strike in a position rotated just a few degrees away from the original strike. Another possibility suggested by CONECA president Mike Diamond, is that coin remained in the collar while the inner sleeve of the collar broke loose and rotated within the collar resulting in the same effect. Because a coin normally expands in diameter ever so slightly upon ejection it is often difficult for it to completely reenter the collar. Makkos' coin does not show a partial collar indicating that it was either forced all the way back in during the second strike or could have been in a rotating collar.

Makkos found it in a 2007 United States Mint Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set that contains the four 2007 Presidential dollars issued by Philadelphia, one 2007 Sacagawea dollar from Denver and a West Point minted 2007 Silver Eagle. All are of the special matte or satin finish that are only issued to collectors in Mint Sets. An image of what the set looks like is at the end of this article. We will elaborate more on this coin as specialists weigh in on its value, etc. KP

March 17, 2008 -- Philip Wood of North Carolina reports finding a very nice higher-grade circulated example of a clashed die on a 1931-S “Buffalo” five-cent piece that he found in a roll he recently purchased on eBay. He said that it was unattributed for the variety and he just happened to notice it while looking over the lot. It also shows strong clash marks from the Bison’s shoulder impressed between the Indian’s neck and lower feathers (not shown here). Nice find Philip!

March 10, 2008 -- Gordon Barnes of MA reports finding 2008-P James Monroe dollars with edge lettering that appears crisp and clear (or what one would consider normal) on some coins while others display "coarse" lettering with some doubling. Out of 6000 pieces searched he found 550 with the "coarse" edge inscriptions. The "coarse" lettering effect was seen on some 2007-P Adams dollars too and were referred to as "Large Font" by some finders. Research is still being conducted on what might be the cause of this effect. Barnes also found examples with the lettering ranging from up high on the rim, centered on the rim and down low. This effect has been seen on all the preceding dollars.

     March 04, 2008 -- (Revised March 06 to add new information) Garrett Reich of Michigan has reported a 2008-P Presidential dollar planchet found in a $1000 box of James Monroe Presidential dollars. While the edge is inscribed with the mottos, IN GOD WE TRUST and E PLURIBUS UNUM, the date and mintmark; the planchet itself managed to avoid the striking process and is sans the obverse and reverse designs.   It is one of just a handful of edge lettered planchets known for the entire series of Presidential dollars minted so far and it's the first one reported to me on a 2008 issue. Reich reported it to me several days prior to the official February 14 release date for the Monroe dollars asking for advise as to whether or not I knew if any of the grading services would designate it as a Monroe dollar planchet on their holders. He eventually sent it to Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) of Sarasota, Fl., who certified it as: "2008-P (James Monroe) Edge Lettered Planchet." See the Numismatic News Story Here.
    According to a March 13, 2007 Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) press release, Ray and Mary Smith of Fort Collins, Colorado were the first to submit a lettered edge planchet for a 2007 Presidential dollar planchet with a lettered edge found in one of two 25-coin rolls of Denver minted George Washington Presidential dollars obtained from a local bank. Because it was found prior to any other Presidential dollars types being released for 2007, it was designated as a Washington dollar planchet in a like manner to the lettered edge Monroe dollar certified for Reich. According to the Smith's who kept an eye on events surrounding the error type, they were aware of several other 2007 edge lettered dollar planchets that were found after theirs and certified by NGC.
    Scott Schechter, NGC's Director of Marketing stated in a March 6 email on the subject: "We’ve graded at least a half dozen lettered edge (and partially lettered edge) blanks. As soon as the second coin of the year comes out, we will no longer put a name on the label, and I think that we’ve only done three Monroe blanks so far. Unlettered blanks are common, and, since they are the same as the Sacagawea blanks, we have done many hundreds. Dave Camire commented to me that he feels that the frequency of blanks coming out for Presidential dollar coins is higher than for Sacagawea dollars years ago." A George Washington dollar lettered edge planchet that was certified after the Smith's had theirs certified can be found on the NGC website by going here: Presidential $1 Error Coins: George Washington.

    March 06, 2008 -- Update! It has been learned that an additional specimen of a 2008-P James Monroe dollar planchet with edge lettering has been reported by Ken Sigler of Cinnaminson Rare Coins, Cinnaminson, NJ. He found it while searching through rolls of the dollars on February 18. A story on his find by Paul Gilkes can be found on page 4 of the March 17 issue of Coin World. It is now available for viewing to subscribers of the online version of CW. According to the story, Sigler was planning to send it to PCGS. This would be one of four specimens publicly reported so far assuming Sigler did not change his mind and send it to NGC and is is a part of their count. As of the time of this posting it is not known how many lettered edge dollar planchets have been certified by PCGS. We will update as we learn more.

February 28, 2008 -- (Revised to add more information March 05, 2008) A number of researchers who attributed a 2000 Lincoln cent as a doubled die obverse with an "extra beard" just weeks ago have unanimously reversed their opinions of it being attributed as such and have reattributed it as a clashed die (with most or all suggesting it is a clash from misaligned dies or what is often referred to as a MAD Clash). Researchers who originally suggested that the coin was a doubled die based their opinions on the fact that overlays seemed to neatly fit the area of the so-called extra beard into another area of the beard. However, soon after the variety was first publicized, folks started finding more examples with a so-called extra beard doubled die from other dies with obvious clash marks. So many were found with clash marks that a clash had to be considered as a possible cause. A closer look at examples struck from the same dies as the original find also showed traces of clash but they were minor and overlooked as trivial. Several hobby specialists created overlays of what a clash might look like, and overlays with the dies a bit misaligned started to look like the answer. Researcher, Ken Potter created preliminary overlays from images of a 2005-D Lincoln cent he borrowed from the US Mint's website and after a bit of playing around was able to recreate what appeared to approximately illustrate how the obverse and reverse dies were lined up when they clashed. Potter said, "You have to look closely and visualize where the field areas at the edges of the columns and around the Lincoln statue in the Memorial building are to piece it together mentally. Another CONECA researcher, B.J. Neff fine-tuned overlays that he created and are shown above. His entire account with a detailed analysis complete with photomicrographic overlays with arrows of the areas in question can be accessed via the link at the end of this article. CONECA member-researcher, Billy Crawford, also created extensive overlays along with an extensive account of what created this aberration and others that are similar. The link to his work is also at the end of this article.
The fact that attributers all agreed "too quickly" on this being a doubled die was definitely a part of the problem of it being misattributed by so many so quickly. The fact that the "doubling" seemed to "fit" into the design was an even bigger part of the problem. It is a lesson that reaffirms what many researchers already know, which is that overlays that "fit" do not always necessarily confirm a variety even when they seem to do so at first glance."

Photo © Ken Potter 2008 / Coin courtesy of Susan Headley
Above is an example of a 2000 Lincoln Cent with a "normal" clash die sent in by Susan Headley of www.coins.about.com. Here we see the rectangular shaped area (from a bay of the Memorial building on the reverse) pointed out by the red arrows below the ear. This is the typical area to see this aberration on many recent date Lincolns with clashed dies. The so-called extra beard is also present on this specimen but much lower than on the MAD Clash version. They are pointed out by the yellow arrows. The uppermost red arrow points to yet another clash mark. Interestingly, clash marks of the character pointed out by the yellow arrows have not yet been reported to us on other dates, which may be one of the reasons they were not noticed on the series until recently. We will report further as we learn more so stay tuned in!

Attributers who have de-listed the 2000 Lincoln cent variety shown above as being a doubled die include, John Wexler, James Wiles (CONECA), Ken Potter, Billy Crawford and Bob Piazza (of www.CopperCoins.com). Credit should be given to all of the attributers involved in the research of this coin for nipping this misattribution in the bud before it became firmly entrenched into the hobby as a doubled die.
With all this said, it is interesting to note that the reevaluation of the variety from a doubled die to a MAD Clash has not particularly destroyed its stature as a collectable. A MAD Clash is a rather elusive class of variety in itself and we expect that collectors will continue to look for these and collect them.

Read Billy Crawford's Excellent Update On The Variety Here (Tip: Right click and save this document to your hard drive or a disc if you want to read it later as Crawford's Die Variety News' issues are not held permanently on the web as they are replaced with newer issues.

Note: A very educational article on this subject by John Wexler can also be found on pages 23-25 of the March 31 issue of Coin World.

March 03, 2008 -- Eric Zabel reports finding a neat Major Die Break "Cud" while searching through rolls of circulated cents. He said "I found this penny in a roll that I got from the bank. I buy $25.00 at a time and search them. It's a 1972-D with a cud and I was happy to find it. But then I took out my magnifier and saw that it had columns on the obverse side of the coin." The columns are the result off a severe die clash which undoubtedly contributed to the die breaking. Cuds which obliterate part of or all of the word "GOD" are often referred to as Atheist Cuds by collectors. Read more about cuds and clashes by going to the CONECA Glossary, Recent Finds Archive or the Error-Variety Articles Index page.

March 01, 2008 -- Joy Murphy and Vince Viren of IL recently found a neat "Dropped Digit" on a 2007-D Utah State quarter. According to Murphy: "I am a new error collector and member of CONECA. I was explaining my new hobby to my brother and we were looking through pocket change and found this Utah error quarter. As a beginner, I don't even know what some of the terms actually mean, but I am learning every day." It was Authenticated by ANACS who attributed is as follows: 2007-D 25C UT STRK THRU DROPPED DIGIT - INCUSE '6' ON REV and graded MS 64.

The "Dropped Design" is a relatively scarce error type with its origins in the common "Filled Die" error. When debris, (often referred to by error collectors as "mint goop" or "grease"), clog a die, it may after a few strikes, become compressed within cavities of the die such as numerals or letters or other design elements. Even after the offending material has been dispersed from the field of the die through striking coins, it may remain intact within these recesses. More "Dropped Design" errors can be found by searching the Recent Finds archive.

Photos courtesy of Thea Slavin/Coin courtesy of American Precious Metals Exchange

Click On Image For Larger View
Here is an overlay created in Photoshop that illustrates where
the clash marks originated from.

February 12, 2007 (Revised Feb 15 to include additional information) -- Benjamin Swagerty reports the following: "At the Oklahoma City launch for the new Oklahoma quarter, a set in a plastic case was made available with both a P and a D mint quarter. Back at the shop, we noticed problems with several of the P mint quarters. Our staff photographer was able to use our microscope to take images of die clashing. We do not know if you are already aware of these or not, but we thought you might be interested in the photos for your column. They were discovered by Nathan Owens and photographed by Thea Slavin. We are all employees of American Precious Metals Exchange." It should be noted that Swagerty sent three different images of what appeared to be three clashed die varieties or stages thereof. The one shown above is the strongest of the three.

It is interesting to see in Slavin's photo clashed die elements from obverse-to-reverse that we've seen on other clashed State quarter designs. For example, the so-called "leaping fish" clash die mark seen on the reverse of many 2005 Minnesota state quarters is again seen here as the lowest clash mark in the field while the entire series of clash marks on the Okalahoma quarter are similarly seen on a 2003-P Maine quarter clashed die reverse that we documented a few years ago.

In looking at the overlay provided above you can see how the design areas on the obverse, match up with the areas of clash marks on the reverse of the clashed Okalahoma "launch quarters" found by Owens. For those of you who want to lean how to create overlays like the one shown here: I photographed the obverse of a normal coin and then borrowed the "line art" version of the reverse design from the U.S. Mint website and downsized it to the same size as my photo of the obverse. I then imported the images into Adobe Photoshop™ and inverted and horizontally flipped the image of the obverse into the orientation it would be in relation to the reverse when the dies came together. I then used the circular cloning tool set at an opacity level of about 50%, to copy the image of the reverse and then dropped it right over the image of the obverse. Presto! We have a composite image that illustrates what areas of the obverse/reverse match up in a clash.

Photo Courtesy of PCGS
Here is a look at the Sacagawea dollar with edge inscription submitted to PCGS by Andrew Moores

February 11, 2008 -- For those of you who haven't noticed, the U.S. Mint website now shows that the 2007 Philadelphia minted Sacagawea dollar rolls are no longer available. In plain English this statement often means "sold out," though hobbyists have learned in recent years, that this is not always the case. The "P" & "D" Mint bags have been "sold out" for months with speculation rampant as to whether or not they could sell out their specially wrapped 25-piece rolls in a like manner.

What the "sell out" of the Philadelphia rolls suggests is that the slightly higher mintage Denver issue will probably follow suit and "sell out" too. Some will see this as their last chance to get in on the deal at issue price. But why would you want to buy them? The most obvious reason would be that they may increase in value as often occurs after a Mint item is closed out. However, others have suggested that this is where you might be able to find additional pieces of the Denver minted Sac dollars with a lettered edge ... if more exist. The theory goes something like this: one specimen has been found so far and where there is one there is usually more. The Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, Cal., paid the finder of the first example of this error a reward $10,000.00 so there is lots of incentive to find additional examples even though they may not be worth this much in the retail market. Since the 2007 Sac dollars were not distributed to the public through the banking system and had to be purchased by collectors/speculators directly from the U.S. Mint at a premium, it has been reasoned that more of the errors may be in those "collector" rolls or bags sold by the Mint. Other theories exist as to how the lettered edge Sac got out of the Denver Mint but these "theories" are a moot point to this discussion.

What we need to be pay special attention to is the fact that the one known specimen of the lettered edge Sac error was reported found in circulation. Some suggest that this is nearly impossible since the Mint did not release any 2007 Sacs into circulation but the fact is that it is not unusual for a collector to buy a roll of coins or even a bag or more from the Mint so that he/she can pick out the superior specimens to be saved and then dump the lackluster pieces in a bank or spend them. So it is not really all that unusual for a few coins that were never officially released into circulation to end up there. Even proof coins enter circulation from time to time.

However, what most folks are missing is the fact that this coin was run through the Schuler Edge Lettering Machine. What that means is that if it did get out in error, that the coin most probably got mixed in with a bin of Presidential dollars and then taken to the edge lettering machine. This could have occurred if a tub used previously to haul Sac dollars was emptied and then used to haul Presidential dollars. If one or a few Sacs remained in the bin for one reason or another they could have gotten mixed in with the Presidential dollars and run through the edge lettering machine. This suggests that the coin would not have even came out of a Sac roll but more probably from a roll of Presidential dollars assuming the coin left the Mint in a legitimate manner!

So if you are hoping to find edge marked Sac dollar errors in Sac rolls, you'll probably be disappointed. Nonetheless, buying a few 2007-D Sac rolls may not be a bad idea. The coin is of relatively low mintage and may do well on its own merits. Rolls of past issues sold exclusively to collectors are doing well. I purchased a few of both the Philadelphia and Denver rolls and have my fingers crossed but won't be checking them for errors! KP

Image Digitally Manipulated To Appear The Same Color As A Quarter Dollar Coin; The Actual Errors Would Also Most Probably Be Weakly Struck Especially Along the Rims and Undoubtedly Be Somewhat Out-Of-Round Since There Would Not Have Been Enough Metal Present To Completely Fill the Collar.

February 09, 2008 -- The U.S. Mint has confirmed that a number of "irregular" 2008-P James Monroe Presidential dollars have been returned to the Mint from a contractor that wraps coinage for the Mint. The coins were struck on standard copper-nickel clad quarter-dollar planchets rather than the intended manganese-brass clad dollar planchets. According to Paul Gilkes' front page Coin World article, as of the publication's February 1 noon deadline, the Mint had confirmed an awareness that a number of the errors could enter into circulation on the coin's official release date of February 14. A source to CW indicated that the number of errors produced could range anywhere from 70,000 to 140,000 pieces. On February 4, after conducting an inquiry, the Mint stated that it "presently has no evidence to indicate that any irregular James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins have been sent to the nation's banks." The Mint statement says in full:

"In mid-January, the United States Mint's coin-wrapping contractor alerted the agency when it found some irregular James Monroe Presidential $1 coins. The coins in question were immediately returned to the United States Mint. The United States Mint has performed an internal inquiry and presently has no evidence to indicate that any irregular James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins have been sent to the nation's banks. The United States Mint expects to make an estimated 103 million James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins."

Now the question is, did the Mint really recover all the errors? Past history suggests that they may not have. If you decide to look for them, they will be the color of a quarter-dollar, thinner, underweight and not perfectly round with the thinnest areas of the coin near the rims were lettering might appear to be stretched or flowing toward the edge. The edge inscription will be weak if at all present and will only show as partial letters due to the lack of thickness of the planchet to accommodate the width of the characters.

March 05, 2008: Update! It is interesting to note that as of today's date NOBODY has reported finding any of the Monroe dollars struck on quarter planchets!

February 09, 2008 -- According to one Cherrypicker, (who simply goes by the name of Vess), profiteers who searched 2007-P Adams dollars for Smooth Edge and Doubled Inscription Edge Errors, may have missed the boat on another error that he has found a number of so far. His finds involve a very significant narrowing in the spacing between the "P" Mintmark and the "E" of E PLURIBUS UNUM. This type of error is most easily found by stacking the coins one on top of the other with the date and Mintmark lined up evenly over each other and then looking to see if there are any significant closures between the P and E. Shown here is a stack of some of the dollars with this error that he has accumulated thus far. The coin on the bottom displays the normal spacing between the P and E, which is quite considerable. The rest of the coins are shown in a progression starting from the top with the spacing narrowing to a greater degree between the P and E on each coin down the stack. So far, Vess has found about 120 examples of this edge inscription shift with varying degrees of spacing.

In The News ...
Two New Presidential Dollar Errors ID'd!
1st Madison Plain Edge / 3rd Denver Adams Double Edge Reported!

One Of Only Three Denver Minted Adams Dollars Currently Known With Double
Edge Lettering. The Arrow Points To The Denver Mintmark.

Photos © Ken Potter 2008
Here Is A Shot Of The Only Plain Edge Madison Dollar Reported So Far.

February 1, 2008 -- A Michigan collector, who prefers to remain anonymous, has reported finding two rare Presidential dollar errors. The coins include the first published report for a Denver version of a 2007 Adams dollar with a double edge inscription and the first report for a (2007) Madison dollar with the edge inscription missing. Numismatic Guarantee Corporation of Sarasota, Florida, certified both coins. Details of the story can be seen on page 4 of the February 4 issue of Coin World.

A Look At "IN GOD WE TRUST" And "ERTY" of LIBERTY Shows
Us Just How Strong This Rarity Is!

Photos © Ken Potter 2008
The Latest '69-S DDO Found Exhibits Strong Strike Doubling On
"9" of Date And S Mint Mark. Compare It To The Tremonti Specimen
Below To See The Difference.

January 25, 2008 -- Another 1969-S hub doubled die Lincoln cent has been found in Michigan! The find comes right on the heels of a specimen located by Michigander, Michael Tremonti who found one in an uncirculated roll of the cents on October 3, 2007. The finder of the newest example, who preferred to remain anonymous and was close-mouthed about any details as to exactly when and where it was found, would only say that he cherrypicked it from an uncirculated roll of 1969-S cents after seeing the story on the Tremonti find in the October 29, 2007 issue of Coin World. Interestingly, this newest find flies in the face of conventional wisdom that is often erroneously passed on to collectors that suggests that if the Mintmark is also doubled that it is not the doubled die. Here we see that the doubled die can in fact also be affected with strike doubling! Details on this newest find can be seen in Ken Potter's version of the story in the January 28 issue of Coin World and in Mike Ellis' version of the story in the current issue of Numismatic News .

In The News ...
"Fresh" 1969-S Doubled Die Cent Sells For Record Price!
$126,500.00 For Coin Found In BU Roll!

January 10, 2008 -- Just moments before this news item was posted, the Michael Tremonti Specimen of the 1969-S Doubled Die cent was hammed down for $126,500.00 (including the buyer's fee) by Heritage Auctions, held in conjunction with the FUN Convention! The coin was sold to an Internet bidder. Internet bidding ended on January 9 while the live auction was held on January 10. The coin received nine bids. The previous record for this variety was $85,100.00 for a PCGS MS64 R&B sold by Bowers & Merena Auctions last August. The Tremonti specimen graded PCGS MS64 Red, tying with just one other coin for the highest graded. It was claimed by at least one PCGS insider to very possibly be the finest known example based on visual appearances. Two pieces graded PCGS-65 Red that appeared on the population reports in the past were removed for reasons that have never been fully explained.

Photos © Ken Potter 2008/Coin Courtesy of Shawn Bell
Significant Markers For The Variety Are Found Below UNITED.

January 12, 2008 -- Cherrypicker, Shawn Bell of PA sent in a nice example of a 2007-P James Madison Presidential dollar with hub doubling as pointed out by the arrows. It is the result of a tilted hub doubled die. I do not think that James Wiles has it listed yet but it is listed by John Wexler as WDDR-001 and is featured in his Coin World, Varieties Notebook column this month. Wexler and I co-author the VN column with my installments appearing in the first issue of every month and Wexler's appearing in the third issue of every month. KP

Members Share...
Die Dent With Pressure Ridges On A 1998-P Nickel
Implications for the Wisconsin "Extra Leaf" Quarters
by Mike Diamond

January 05, 2008 -- Those who attribute unusual significance to the the Wisconsin "extra leaf" quarters place a lot of emphasis on one feature. It is a dimple or trough located just below the concave edge of the "low leaf". The dimple corresponds to a pressure ridge on the die face. To investigators like Chris Pilliod, this feature indicates that the die was altered when it was in a softened, or annealed state. He reasons that localized metal displacement of this magnitude is unlikely in a hardened, or tempered die. Those who argue that the extra leaves were intentionally placed on the die believe the dimple validates their position, since they cannot think of any mishap that would occur accidentally while the dies are awaiting final processing.
I initially found Chris' argument persuasive. I have quite a few examples of coins struck by damaged dies (some quite severely), and I could not find evidence of a pressure ridge in any of them. Recently, however, I purchased a 1998-P nickel struck by a die with a long, deep, and very straight die dent. It shows three dimples above a ridge whose relief is as great as the letters of UNUM through which it passes. In 2006 Ken Potter reported on a Minnesota quarter with a smaller die dent that also shows development of pressure ridges.
These two specimens raise doubts about the significance of a pressure ridge. If the ridges formed in hardened dies as the result of an impact during normal press operation, it would indicate that even hardened die steel can suffer localized deformation. If the ridges formed while the dies were in a softened state, it indicates that accidental impacts do occur while the dies are awaiting final heating, quenching, and tempering.

November 29, 2007 -- Paul Kmiotek of NY was in for a surprise when he opened a States Quarter Proof set that his In-laws gave him on his Birthday this September! The last thing he expected to find was a major error. Yet, that is exactly what he encountered when he slid the set out it the Mint box and saw that lower right corner of the case was jammed partially open by the high flange of a misstruck Wyoming State quarter! At first he didn't notice the error and tried to snap the case back closed but the high flange that was cupped upward from obverse forced it to spring back open. He then noticed the "problem" and decided to contact Numismatic News about his find. The report was forwarded to me and I then consulted with a pool of experts to see what they thought.

November 25, 2007 -- Raymond Reid of Michigan reports some pretty neat die cracks on a 1919-D Mercury dime that he found while treasure hunting. He said: "I've had this coin for over 30 years but never really got into variety and error coins. I do collect coins and have a nice collection. I found this one at the Saginaw Fairgrounds in Saginaw, MI. I found several Mercury dimes that day and I was set to call it a day, when I noticed an area by one of the horse barns where there used to be a penny arcade -- a nice area protected from the elements by a large overhang. The area where I found the coin was mostly sand, it was probably seven inches below the surface and was very clean, probably due to the clean dry sand it had been laying in for I don't know how many years. When I got home I got out my magnifying glass and looked over all the coins and I noticed what I believed were die breaks on the 1919 but wasn't sure. I put it in a white stapled holder and printed d.b.on it for die break and it has been in one of my books ever since. I took it out after I had seen a 1942/1 Mercury dime sell on eBay. Anyway the 2/1 looked a bit like the die break going through my date on the 1919-D so I took it out and looked at it again. Over the years I have done some reading on die breaks and other types of error coins. Looking at it this time I realized how pronounced the breaks were. I had forgotten about the die break through the R of TRUST and didn't notice the I and T (of LIBERTY) had a break above each letter from the center of the letters to the rims -- very small but noticeable. I would be very happy to have you show it on the CONECA website as I find it it interesting and fascinating to see die breaks and other errors. Now I find myself looking much closer at my collection. I have been collecting coins since 1969 and find it a wonderful and very interesting hobby. I am sure you feel the same way. I looked at a number of your coins on your website, and there are some very interesting ones. Your website gives collectors great insights on error and varieties."

Note: Thanks Raymond for your story! Anybody else have an interesting find to share? The finds don't have to major just something interesting! Send them to the webmaster at conecawebsite@koinpro.com and images of suitable quality and interest will be shown.

August 24, 2007 -- CONECA member BJ Neff offers free access to his the complete listings on "Trail Dies" and "Wavy Steps" varieties. These are aberrations found mostly on Lincoln cents that some feel are a type of hub doubling and others feel are yet unexplained and in need of more study. His work has found a home on CONECA ErrorScope editor, Frank Leone's web site located at http://www.1793.com. All 431 listings, compiled by Neff can be found here: http://www.1793.com/resources/traildies/traildies.htm. According to Neff, "there are some corrections that have to be made and I am in the process of re-reading the whole files. Frank's idea of putting it into PDF format was outstanding for now these files can be accessed by all who show an interest in collecting this type die anomaly." Nice work BJ!

December 4, 2007 -- Klaus Schwalfenberg of CA found this beautiful large Major Die Break (Cud) while searching through a circulated roll of cents today! Nice find Klaus!

November 23, 2007 -- According to Ken Potter in his latest installment of Coin World's, Varieties Notebook, (a bimonthly column that he and John Wexler share alternately), Harold Kuykendall of Virginia sent in what appears to be the first doubled die reverse reported for the 2005-P California State quarter. Like its brethren found on the Minnesota quarters, the doubling involves an area located in the virtual dead center of the design. In this case it appears to be some type of foliage, possibly a tree, found at the left side of Yosemite Valley’s monolithic granite headwall, Half Dome. More details on the variety can be seen in the December 3 issue of Coin World.

Click Picture To See PCGS PhotoCertificate
Photos courtesy of Professional Coin Grading Service

October 25, 2007 -- Yes, you can still find valuable coins! Professional Coin Grading Service has certified a recently discovered modern rarity, a 1969 San Francisco Mint doubled die obverse Lincoln Cent. It's graded PCGS Mint State 64 Red and tied for the finest known!
The coin was discovered by Michigan collector, Michael Tremonti, who was examining two rolls of uncirculated 1969-S cents on October 3. After consulting with well-known error-variety expert, Ken Potter, he (Potter) submitted the coin to PCGS.

"I was totally amazed that this coin could turn up out of nowhere. The coin is completely original and full mint red. It's a beautiful near-Gem example," said David Hall, PCGS co-founder and president of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT). "What an incredible find! This could be a six-figure coin."

Including this latest discovery piece, the PCGS Population Report indicates only 23 1969-S doubled die cents from Very Fine to MS-64, and only two are graded Mint State Red.

The coin discovered by Tremonti has strong doubling on the obverse in the date, 1969, and the words, LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. It's described by Potter as "a Class I Rotated Hub with counter-clockwise doubling."

A1969-S doubled die cent, graded PCGS MS-64 Red Brown was sold for $85,100 in the Bowers and Merena Auctions sale in August. The Tremonti coin is full red, tied for finest known with one other MS-64 Red, and with no higher grade examples in the PCGS Population Report.

PCGS is a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. For additional information about PCGS, call Customer Service at (800) 447-8848 or visit online at www.PCGS.com.

In The News ...
PCGS Confirms Lettered-Edge
Sac and Plain-Edge Jefferson Dollars

Photo Courtesy of PCGS
Here is a look at the Sacageawa dollar with edge inscription submitted to PCGS by Andrew Moores

Photo © Ken Potter 2007
Here is a look at the first plain edge Jefferson dollar reported by Bruce Countyman

November 20, 2007 -- Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, CA, has certified the first reported Sacagawea golden dollar coin struck with the edge lettering intended only for Presidential dollars. The submitter will receive a $10,000 finder's reward from PCGS.
"The United States Mint set up specific internal procedures in an attempt to prevent this type of error from happening. But it did happen, and it's an amazing-looking error," said Ron Guth, PCGS President.
The 2007-dated coin was struck at the Denver Mint and has been examined and authenticated by the experts at PCGS. The coin was submitted by Andrew Moores of Lakewood, Colorado who found the coin in his pocket change. Moores believes he could have had the coin for as long as two weeks and only noticed it when he compared it with other Sacagawea Dollars that he had already set aside.
Moores was unaware of the reward until a coin collector friend mentioned that he had seen the offer on the PCGS Message Boards. According to Guth, who spoke with the submitter about the find, "Needless to say, Mr. Moores is a very happy man."

PCGS also confirms it now has certified 301 Jefferson dollars erroneously struck without edge lettering.
"Four different Presidential dollars have been released so far - George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison - and now we've seen the so-called 'Godless' error on three of them. It seems ironic that we've got Presidential dollars without the motto In God We Trust and an error Sac dollar that has it on both the obverse and the edge," said Guth. The first Jefferson dollar reported with a plain edge was publicized in the October 8 issue of Coin World and October 2 issue of Numismatic News a full three weeks before any additional specimens surfaced. That one was submitted by Bruce Countryman of IA who obtained it from an individual who wished to remain anonymous.

This past March, PCGS announced it was offering a $10,000 reward to the first person who submitted for verification a genuine Sacagawea dollar struck with Presidential dollar edge lettering. The incuse lettering includes the year of minting and the mottos, IN GOD WE TRUST and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Normal Sacagawea dollars have plain edges.

"We figured sooner or later an edge-lettered Sac dollar would be produced because there are literally hundreds of millions of Presidential dollars being struck. There's one additional major error we think might show up: an over-strike with both the Sacagawea and Presidential designs on the same coin." said Guth. PCGS has a standing offer of $10,000 to be the first to authenticate such an overstrike.

Earlier, PCGS earlier paid a $2,500 finder's reward to Ray and Mary Smith of Fort Collins, Colorado who submitted the first known lettered-edge blank planchet Presidential dollar in March soon after the Washington dollars went into circulation.

PCGS is a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT). Additional information is available from Professional Coin Grading Service at (800) 447-8848. E-mail: info@PCGS.com.

November 8, 2007 -- According to a feature in the current issue of Numismatic News, its readers are continuing to find Major Die Breaks (Cuds) on States quarters. According to NN feature writer, Ken Potter, the latest one to cross his desk is on a Philadelphia issue Wyoming quarter reported to him by Mike Bozynski who found it in an original roll.

November 8, 2007 -- Another thing we are seeing on Wyoming quarters is a multitude of reports of die cracks, die chips, die breaks and clash marks. The photo shown above is from Philadelphia specimen sent in by Douglas Rall of Idaho. These aren't worth much in terms of what they fetch on eBay (a buck or so) but nonetheless fun to find and collect.

October 25, 2007 -- Byron Jones sent in a neat die clash on a 2007-D Jefferson Presidential dollar that looks every bit like a spike protruding from Liberty's neck and another long spike that mimics an "Extra Ray" in Liberty's crown. There are other areas of clash on this variety on the obverse and reverse including that running below the torch in Liberty's right hand (viewer's left). Jones sent it in on October 4 and while it is not the first clash we've seen it is one of the most interesting. KP

October 17, 2007 -- R. Maher of Georgia reports finding a 2005-P Jefferson / Bison reverse five cents with a wildly rotated reverse. He said he found the coin in a $2.00 hand-wrapped roll of nickels from a bank in western Georgia. He said: "I spin each coin around in my fingers before rolling them back up specifically to check for errors like this. If you are holding the coin with the obverse facing you, like in the image to the left and then you spin it around (from side to side), it appears exactly like the in image of the reverse to the right. The only other rotated reverse he said he found was a memorial cent at about 45 degrees rotated. He suggests that if others start looking, they might find more like these and we can learn more about their distribution, etc. Anybody else find any? Let us know by sending an email by clicking here: conecawebsiteeditor

October 17, 2007 -- Error-variety coin dealer, Ken Potter of Michigan announces that a “fresh” 1969-S Doubled Die Obverse #1 Lincoln cent has been discovered. He said that a “local collector” cherrypicked a specimen from out of an uncirculated roll on October 3. The coin was consigned to him to sell and is currently at Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, CA for certification and grading. He feels that it may very well tie for the finest piece graded or exceed it. He says that it appears to be just one of two mint state specimens known that is full red.

October 12, 2007 -- The Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, California has certified two of the recently-released 2007-D Thomas Jefferson dollar coins with nearly identically-located 3.5 percent, semi-circular planchet clips. "Both coins were discovered in a government-sealed 'first day of issue' box as part of a bulk submission sent in by someone who wants to remain anonymous. The graders were surprised to find not one, but two Jefferson dollars with curved planchet clips along the top left edge of the coins when viewed from Jefferson's portrait," said Ron Guth, PCGS President. One coin was graded PCGS MS-66, the other was MS-67.

A clipped planchet, also known as an incomplete planchet error, occurs during the minting process when the coin blank (which will eventually become a planchet once it is run through the upset mill) is not correctly punched out from a strip of metal. Most clips will be curved, ragged or straight with the most common being the curved.

"The clipped planchet Jefferson dollars certainly are interesting to see. Someone jokingly suggested that because 3.5 percent of each coin is missing they might only be worth 96.5 cents. But we all know that nice error coins are worth considerably more than face value," said Guth.

PCGS is a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. For additional information about PCGS, call Customer Service at (800) 447-8848 or visit online at www.PCGS.com.

September 16, 2007 -- CONECA is honored to be the first to show a Jefferson dollar with a plain edge or what some call a smooth edge and still others sensationalize as a "godless dollar!" At this point we will say nothing more other than to watch for the stories coming up in the next issues of Coin World and Numismatic News! Credits to the finder, where it was found, which Mint it was from, etc., will all be forthcoming.

September 09, 2007 -- Alberto Irizarry of Michigan decided to do what many Michigan collectors had been doing weeks ago and went out to search some rolls of John Adams dollars for double edge lettering errors. He struck out in that regard but he did find something, which in Michigan anyway, has been far more elusive. He ran into a 2007-P Adams dollar with a major error of another stripe! His coin bears two significant curved clips. I met him at the Redford Township Coin Show in Michigan and took these photos of his find. The story appeared on page 42 of the July 17 issue of Numismatic News. Congratulations Alberto! KP

August 25, 2007 -- Ken Potter reports in his Educational Image Gallery that: "On August 16, the day the new Thomas Jefferson Presidential dollars were released to the public, Chuck Chichinski of Bellefontaine, Ohio went to his bank to obtain his two rolls of the dollars. Having read a report on the www.coins.about.com website that doubled dies existed on the Adams dollars, he quickly went to work to see if any of the new Jeffersons he had obtained had a similar affliction. By the third or fourth coin in his first roll, he discovered that he had found his first Jefferson dollar doubled die reverse! It was similar but more major than the one alluded to on the coins.about.com site!

September 20, 2007 -- Numismatic News reader, Stephen M. Webber or NC saw the story on the above coin and reported the following: "I received my September 25th Numismatic News today with your article on the Jefferson DDR that Chuck Chichinski submitted to you. Out of curiosity I immediately opened a couple of rolls and found 12 like your pictures. These rolls came from a box with the following data: CWI #103, Jun 21, 2007, Inspected by # XXX4. All mine are P Mint and I obtained the box from a bank in Hendersonville, NC. Thanks for the report Stephen

Photo © Ken Potter 2007
On this Adams dollar you can see IBUS of of EPU over the date. This one shows the Stage 2 edge lettering die impressed over a Stage 1 which many are calling Large over Small Lettering. The double edge lettered coins were found with both Stage 1 over Stage 1 and Stage 2 over 1.

July 19, 2007 -- Over the past several weeks Adams dollar error have dominated the news as massive finds of the coins with double edge inscriptions (commercially referred to as double edge letting) and smooth edges have been hauled out of southeastern Michigan by the thousands! Both Numismatic News and Coin World have been on top of the story giving readers a weekly play by play on the happening. The NN stories can be seen at the links below.

Recent Finds ...
Shifted Edge Inscription Found On
George Washington "Golden" Dollar

March 24, 2007 -- Reports of missing edge lettering on 2007 George Washington Presidential Dollars appear to be confusing some readers says Ken Potter in his latest Numismatic News article on the Smooth-Edge dollar errors. "While I have shown images of the dollars missing this inscription, I have not shown them with the edge lettering present alongside the errors for comparison. The confusion seems to be in the fact that some folks are not sure what the difference is between the rim and the edge of a coin. Thus, they are not sure of where this edge lettering belongs." To eliminate this confusion, Potter shows two stacks of the dollars side by side with and without edge lettering. The stack to the left is obviously with the edge lettering while the stack to the right is missing the lettering. The photo is courtesy of Kent H. of the eBay Internet store Numis-Mart.

Photo courtesy of Garrett Reich
Garrett Reich of Michigan found a 2007-P Washington dollar with the edge inscription partially shifted.
The red arrow points to where the motto, E PLURIBUS UNUM, begins on the error dollar.

Potter also describes two different types of edge errors sent in by NN readers including flattened edge lettering and shifted edge lettering.

Recent Finds ...
Denver Mint Smooth-Edge Washington Dollars
Reported by Weinberg!
by Ken Potter -- NLG

Coins courtesy of Fred Weinberg/Photo by Ken Potter
A stack of 20 of the Denver issued 2007 Washington dollars sans the edge lettering.
Notice that none of these dollars show the copper showing through like
on the Philadelphia stack in the article below this one!

The Philadelphia coin on the top shows a wide band of copper showing through
on the edge while the Denver coin at the bottom appears golden throughout.

March 13, 2007 -- Long time CONECA (founding) member, Fred Weinberg has confirmed that Plain-Edge Washington dollars are now coming out of rolls of Denver Mint produced coins. What seemed to just be a rumor weeks earlier is now a proven fact as numerous finders are beginning to report the Denver version found in rolls distributed in California, Colorado and Chicago for starters. Weinberg stated:

“Last Friday I bought 70 (out of 72) Plain Edges from a local coin shop. A lady had gone into her local bank branch on Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks (next door to Encino, about two miles east of me), asked for a $1,000 worth of dollars. The teller laughed at her and said, "You won't find any of those errors that are on the news - they're all being found in Florida." She bought a $1,000 box of paper rolled coins, and found 72 Plain Edges! These coins are all from the downtown Los Angeles Federal Reserve, where my bank downstairs got theirs. Yesterday at the same shop, a merchant two doors down came up with six of them! Tom DeLorey examined the first "Denver" Plain Edge last week in Chicago, and my coins match his as far as "edge comparison". There is a difference that can be seen between the D's and P's, but I'm not sure if it's significant enough for the grading services to be able to put Philadelphia or Denver on a holder.”

The differences that Weinberg describes between the Denver and Philadelphia issues focuses on the amount of the copper core that can be seen on each. The Philadelphia issues tend to show a wide copper ring on one side of the edge while the Denver minted coins show an entirely golden edge. This is true so far on both lettered-edge and smooth-edge examples examined so far by Weinberg and other observes including this author. Both Weinberg and I agreed that these characteristics could change and are perhaps not the best indicator of Mint in the long run but for now they seem valid.
This brings us back to a point I made in my article published in Numismatic News last week, (mailed to subscribers on March 9 and dated March 20), that it is important to try to find normal coins from the same rolls that the plain-edge coins are found in that carry the identical die characteristics as the plain edge coins. If a specific die scratch, die crack, die chip, die break, etc., can be found that is shared by both a plain-edge and lettered-edge coin, pairing them together as a set will prove forever where the plain-edge coin was manufactured. This might prove valuable later as grading services might require such proof to note the Mint of manufacturer on a holder. Without this proof the coins may continue to be attributed without a Mintmark.

I want to go one record here as stating that I believe that the smooth-edge variation will be a continuing error that we will see on every issue of the Presidential dollar series!

Recent Finds ...
Washington Presidential Dollar
"Smooth Edge" Error Reports Swell

March 11 , 2007 -- CONECA member, Kent H (N-3914) of the eBay based Internet store Numis-Mart was one of the earlier persons to find the now well-known "Godless" Washington Presidential dollars with edge lettering missing. On March 5 he said: “I was lucky enough to have a family member in Tallahassee when the story broke on February 24th, so he went to as many banks as possible and bought as many rolls as each bank would allow. We ended up with a few of these coins, which made me very happy!” Several days later after many more finds, he said: “We literally went through thousands of coins. Most rolls had zero errors. Then we would find some rolls with multiple errors. All-told, we found about 200 of these coins—but we think we got lucky at one or two of the banks we stopped at. Out of all the rolls we went through, only a few rolls held errors. All I know is this: if we opened a roll that had errors, it had on average, ten errors (minimum 6, maximum 16); otherwise, it had zero errors. These came from Tallahassee rolls, with other coins in the same rolls bearing the “P” mintmark. My assumption is that, at most, one bin got by. If the bin was nearly full, the total number of coins would be in the 100,000 to 300,000 range.”

Untold numbers of the coins somehow missed the edge letting station at the Philadelphia Mint and are missing the date, Mintmark and E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST. Some observers have been referring to them as "Godless" dollars ever since the wire services got wind of the story and began airing it in the local and national newspapers and on television and radio stations. If the quantities are as high as Kent thinks they may be, he could be correct in that an entire bin somehow bypassed the edge-lettering station and was processed as finished coins. If the quantities are very high the coins may prove to be quite affordable somewhere in the under $100 range. If not they could go higher depending on collector demand and dealer promotions. As of Sunday morning, March 11, they were trading from a low of about $92 to upward of $200 each for ungraded specimens. Over 1500 lots containing one or more of the coins have traded on eBay in the past two weeks.

Images courtesy of ANACS/Coin courtesy of Robert Neff
Here is a look at the 1946-S cent with Inverted
Mint Mark Notice the flat-faced "knob-tail" serif
at top & almost detached large bulbous serif at bottom

June 29, 2006 -- After years of erroneous reports of 1946-S cents being found with Inverted Mintmarks, CONECA member, Robert Neff of Florida has finally found one! It involves the Ball Serif/Knob Tail style of Mintmark, which is one of three different mintmark styles used that year. The use of this mintmark punch was restricted from 1944 through 1946 with it ranging from common to rare to nonexistent depending on the date/denomination involved. On the 1946-S Lincoln cent it is considered scarce by Bill Fivaz and very scarce by Ken Potter. ANACS attributed the coin as an Inverted Mintmark and graded it AU-58. CONECA's 20th Century Variety Attributer, James Wiles listed the coin as an Inverted Mintmark designated as IMM-001. Details of the discovery, an examination of the three Mint mark styles used that year, a listing of all Inverted Mintmarks known on US coins and a report on how Mint Engravers normally keep Mintmark punches in correct position are examined by Potter in his article appearing in Coin World's, Collectors' Clearinghouse column dated July 3.

Note to authors: CONECA is interested in publishing news releases highlighting current stories published elsewhere that are associated with error-variety coins and/or the minting process. Interested authors are encouraged to send an abstract along with a photo or more and details of when and where the article was published to the CONECA webmaster at: conecawebsite@koinpro.com (please -- only email submissions).

June 28, 2006 -- In his article Real Or Fake? Coin World editor, Paul Gilkes, makes clear that the likelihood of finding a genuine two-tailed or two-headed coin in circulation is "slim to none." Like Coin World, CONECA has, over the years, receives more questions about two-headed and two-tailed coins than just about any other question you can think of! If you have one of these critters and think it is real, take a look at Gilkes' story and then rethink the whole proposal!

Alleged 1950-S Over D OMM 10c Debunked!
Turns out to be even rarer form of repunching

September 12, 2004 -- In response to overlays that were created of an S over an Inverted S, James Wiles, who oversees the 20^th Century Variety Coin listings for CONECA, said: "I am fairly well convinced this is an S over inverted S. The clincher for me is the notch on the upper side of the vertical bar. This notch is characteristic of the mintmark style and is found on the lower side of the vertical bar. To be found on the upper side would require the (S Mint mark) punch to have been inverted." In a later phone interview he stated that he had long felt the OMM designation was questionable and in light of the results of the current studies, he said he will be changing the CONECA attribution of the variety from an OMM to an RPM."

July 15, 2004 -- Attention is being given to recent US coins that are suspected by some observers to exhibit hub doubling from single-squeeze hubbed dies. Supposedly, hub doubling is impossible via this process. Ken Potter takes a look back at a similar scenario he faced well over a decade ago when he reported in the CONECA Errorscope (and other publications) upon even stronger doubled dies that began popping up on the coins of Canada long after the implementation of the single-squeeze hubbing process there in 1978.

In The News ...
Unscrupulous Sellers Offering Upside Down
Edge-Letting As "Errors" on Washington Dollars

See how the edge lettering on the coin to the left faces up while it faces down on the coin to the right.
This is a normal variation and not an error!

March 11, 2007 -- Collectors are cautioned to avoid the offers of so-called errors with the edge letting upside-down on the Washington Presidential dollars. These are not errors! The coins are first struck and then transported to a Schuler Edge Lettering Machine where the coins are vacuum fed into the machine at random to be force-fed through a long grooved edge lettering die. There is no attempt by the Mint to place the letting facing one side or the other (or to start and finish the inscriptions at any particular place on the coin). Theoretically, if 300 million coins are struck for the Washington dollar, then 150 million should have the edge inscription facing the obverse and 150 million should have the inscription facing the reverse. Calling them errors is factually incorrect. Selling them as errors at inflated prices by those who know better is fraudulent. These variations are, however, edge varieties that one may or may not decide to collect.

Traditionally collectors have ignored such variations on foreign coins where edge inscriptions are commonly found. The last time U.S. collectors were hit with a dealer campaign to recognize the random placement of edge letting on coins as being varieties was with the heavily promoted Mexican 1968 Olympic 25 Peso coins which bore the inscription INDEPENDENCIA Y LIBERTAD on the edge. Like the Washington dollars, the edge inscriptions were random in placement. When collectors learned that this random placement was normal, the variations were quickly ignored. Today, nobody even bothers to mention the orientation of edge letting on the many foreign coins that contain these elements. That may not be the case with the Presidential dollars but so far none of the major grading services are distinguishing between them based on this criteria and it is doubtful that the album manufacturers will accommodate the varieties any time in the future. No matter what the outcome of their popularity as collectable variations, either placement will be common and of no particular value over a non-attributed coin, so NO premium value should be paid for one over the other. KP

New To The Web Site ...
MAD & O/C VA 25c Show
Erratic Pattern of Error Production
by Mike Diamond

March 10, 2005 -- In the September/October 2004 Errorscope I published an article entitled “Horizontal Misalignments of the Anvil Die”. As part of my discussion, I presented a number of Virginia quarters struck by the same die pair that variously show 1) a misaligned anvil (obverse) die, 2) a misaligned hammer (reverse) die, and 3) an off-center strike. Based on the presence/absence of collar clash on the obverse face, I concluded that the misaligned hammer die and the off-center strikes preceded the misaligned anvil die. I was wrong. All these coins are covered by an unusually large number of accidental die scratches, especially on the obverse face. Belatedly, I decided to study the scratches more closely to see if the number varied among my sample of 10 quarters. Vary they did, and I was able to identify six die stages.

July 21, 2005 -- Coin World has reported that the 2000-P Sacagawea dollars released to the public were actually made from two different hubs with variations in design detail on the eagle's tail feathers on the reverse. Apparently the first 5,500 pieces issued, which were placed in specially marked boxes of Cheerios-brand cereal during a 2000 General Mills advertising promotion, were of a different "type" than those later released through normal circulation channels.

January 14, 2007 -- Members are invited to send images of some of their favorite errors to be featured in this column. Send an image(s) and some text explaining what the coin is or why the coin is one of your favorites to the editor by clicking here: Our Favorite Errors

Our Favorite Errors ...
1995-P 25c Laminated Clad Layer Folded Over
Before Strike

July 17, 2006 -- Ken Watson's 1944-D Lincoln cent (featured below) that consists partially of a hinged layer of laminated metal that was folded back either before or after the strike reminded me of one of my favorite errors. I actually do not collect many errors -- just those that tickle my fancy for one reason or another. I found this one at a coin show at a rather reasonable price and decided to keep it in my collection. It is odd in that most clad layers that laminate, actually break away from the core and expose an area of copper. On this one we can see that the outer clad layer actually split from within itself. It was then folded over not once but twice and then struck.

Members are invited to send images of their favorite errors to be featured in this column. Send an image(s) and some text explaining why the coin is one of your favorites to the editor by clicking here: Our Favorite Errors

Recent Finds ...
A VERY Special Susan B. Anthony dollar!
by Rick Emery - CONECA Assistant Webmaster
Images by Mike Diamond

April 30, 2007 -- Audie Higareda, is a Vietnam veteran who was severely wounded in 1970. His wounds would get aggravated and put him in the hospital for extended periods of time and during one of those periods his kind wife brought coins and a 10x magnifier to see what he could find ...

March 17, 2007 -- Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, California has announced that it has certified the "first reported" Washington dollar planchet with a lettered-edge! The piece was found by Ray and Mary Smith of Fort Collins, Colorado and was submitted to PCGS after Coin World advised the couple that PCGS was offering a reward to the first person submitting one. The reward was $2,500.00!

October 13, 2006 -- Three new doubled-die Oregon quarters join the initial find reported in Coin World and Numismatic News last month. Like the first variety, all were found in mint sets issued by the U.S. Mint, and all are Philadelphia issues. News of the latest finds appeared in the October 16, 2006 issue of Coin World and on the Numismatic New website.

September 16, 2006 -- Troy Watkins of Garrett, Ky., who was first to report a Minnesota doubled die, has now found a very significant doubled die reverse on an Oregon quarter! The variety shows best as strongly doubled branches shifted to the south of the stronger primary design on the tall evergreen tree in the foreground to the right of the coin design. It also shows some doubling at the base of the highest relief areas of the rocky shoreline of the north-northeast rim of Crater Lake. Stories on the variety can be found in the September 25 issue of Coin World and in the September 26 issue of Numismatic News.

September 16, 2006 -- Since the last update on doubled dies found on Minnesota quarters, 15 more varieties have been added to the list! Fourteen of the newest finds are on the Philadelphia issue (bringing it to a total of 39) while our 15th variety added to this week’s list is the very first find on a 2005-S proof coin. Stories on the Proof quarter can be found in the September 18, 2006 issue of Coin World and in the September 26 issue of Numismatic News.

Photo © Ken Potter 2006 / Coin courtesy of Jennifer Snyder
Portions of the tree nearest the center of this image is doubled out
into the field on this "Extra Tree" variety found in a Mint Set.

August 13, 2006 -- The Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, Calif., has announced that it will begin grading and attributing the 2005-P Minnesota state quarter doubled dies that have been found in recent weeks. These varieties were reported in front-page stories in the July 18 and Aug. 8 issues of Numismatic News. Additionally, since the Aug. 8 story was published, three new doubled die varieties have been found, including one in a government-issued mint set.

Recent Finds ...
2005-S Silver Proof KS 25c
More Of The Hoof-Shaped Die Dent Variety Found!

October 3, 2006 -- CONECA member Tony Kleczynski has updated his finds from three to ten of the 2005-S Silver Kansas proof quarters with the hoof-like die dent! He originally purchased ten set, keeping three for himself and passing out the other seven to family members. In the interviening weeks he checked with others and learned that they all had sets containing the variety!

September 19, 2006 -- CONECA member Tony Kleczynski reports finding three of the 2005-S Silver Kansas proof quarters with the hoof-like die dent! He said: "While getting caught up on my reading, I came across the 2005 Minnesota doubled die variety article and started to look at the mint sets I have to see if I had any of these varieties. For the heck of it I started with the Silver Proof sets only to find that all three sets had the "hoof" die dent on the Kansas quarter." He wondered if it was a common or rare variety but so far all the reports we have are what you see here! That'll make 'em rare so far! How do you like your steak? KP

July 15, 2005 -- CONECA member Billy Crawford saw the above item and sent the following: "FYI -- Chris Machuga of Florida sent me three (3) of the 2005-S Silver Proof Kansas Quarters that have the "Hoof" die dent. He found them in the 11-coin sets he ordered directly from the Mint. I will be mentioning his finds in my upcoming September/October issue of online Die Variety News magazine. You mentioned on the CONECA web site about reporting additional finds and [I] wanted to pass this bit of information on to you. He reported them to me about a month ago." KP

July 4, 2006 -- Vincent Burke of California found a significantly large, curved, almost horse hoof-shaped die dent on the rear hindquarter of the bison on a 2005-S silver proof Kansas quarter. He found it in a complete 11-piece silver proof set. The variety is significantly larger in area than the die dents (or die gouges) found on the two well-known 2004-D Wisconsin quarters discovered some time ago and popularized under the nicknames "High Leaf" and "Low Leaf." It also appears that the Kansas variety is many times rarer than either of the Wisconsin pieces as none have been reported to this author since it was first publicized in a front page story in the December 6, 2005 issue of Numismatic News. Anybody finding any of these is encouraged to report them to CONECA! KP