Error Coin Examples Broadstrike

Coin struck without a collar, thus when the coin is struck the metal is allowed to expand and increase in diameter. May be centered or uncentered, but must not have any missing lettering or design detail. Off center

Coin struck without a collar and off center, different from the uncentered broadstrike because part of the lettering or design detail is missing. Mechanical doubling

Often looks like a doubled die but is not. It is caused by loose dies that twist slightly after coming into contact with the planchet causing the die to slightly drag on the coin producing a flat, shelf-like doubled appearance. Also under this classification is excessive die wear and/or improper die annealing that will cause the elements of the design to appear doubled simply because the lettering and design elements are thick and mushy. Mechanical doubling usually commands very little premium. Be especially careful of this error on 1969-S cents which can sometimes be mistaken for the very rare and valuable 1969-S doubled die cent. Die break

A chip out of the die into which metal from the planchet will flow when the die strikes coins. It appears as a raised blob of metal on the struck coins. When the die break is large it is sometimes called a "cud." Cud

When a significant part of the edge of the die deteriorates and falls off. The coins struck with this die exhibit a raised blank area on that part of the design. Sometimes called "major die break" Caps or die caps

When a coin is struck and sticks to the die for numerous strikes, the metal flows up around the die and the coin takes on the shape of a bottle cap. A very eye appealing and desirable error. Capped die strike

When a die cap error is occurring, the dies continue to strike more coins even though a coin is capped around one of the dies. If the coin is capped around the obv. die, the coins stuck with that die will appear blank or have varying degrees of mushyness on the obv. due to the obverse die being obstructed. If the cap stays on indefinitely, eventually it will wear through the planchet and the coins struck by that die will become less and less obstructed causing a "late-stage" capped die strike where the image is less distorted. Indent

When a blank planchet partially overlaps another planchet in the striking chamber and gets struck, the overlapping area on the struck coin will exhibit a blank indented area from the other planchet being struck into it. Brockage

Occurs the same as an indent, except that a struck coin is struck into a blank planchet leaving a mirror image impression, although often quite distorted due to metal flow. Struck through error

Occurs when a foreign object lies on top of the planchet and leaves an impression of itself when struck into the coin. A wide variety of objects have been reported including grease, string, cloth, hair, plastic, bandaid, staples, etc. Weak strike or Die trial

Occurs when there is insufficient pressure from the dies to leave a full impression on the planchet. This can occur for a variety of reasons but usually occurs when the power to the presses is turned off and the dies continue to strike coins with less and less pressure until coming to a stop. On such coins all the detail, including the reeding on clad coins should exhibit extreme weakness. If the coin is simply struck through grease, some details may be strong and the edge reading will also be strong. Curved Clipped Planchet

Planchets are punched from large thin metal sheets. After a section of the sheet is punched, if the sheet fails to be fed far enough ahead, 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, which indicates a genuine clip. This will appear as weakness and thinness around the missing metal. There will also often be a corresponding area of weakness on the rim of the opposite side of the coin, known as the "Blakesley effect." A genuine clip will never show a raised edge of metal bordering the missing metal (which usually indicates shearing) and the details bordering the area of missing metal should not be crisp. Straight clipped planchet

If the metal strip shifts during the punching process and the punches overlap the straight side edge of the strip, a straight area of metal will be missing from the planchet. Ragged clipped planchet

If the punches overlap the ragged ends of the strip, a resulting ragged area of missing metal occurs. Wrong planchet/off metal

When a planchet is struck by a pair of dies that do not correspond to the denomination intended for the planchet, a wrong planchet error occurs. For example a Jefferson nickel struck on a cent planchet will have the same weight and copper composition as a cent. It will likely be smaller than a nickel, but probably slightly larger than a cent because the nickel collar cannot restrain the smaller cent planchet from expanding. Double Denomination

Occurs when an already struck coin is struck by a pair of dies of a different denomination. These coins will show details of both denominations. For example a cent struck on a struck dime (often called an 11c piece) will have the planchet of a dime and details of both a dime and a cent. Usually the details of the denomination of the last dies to strike to coin are strongest and some double denomination coins barely show any detail from the denomination of the first strike. Clashed dies

Occurs when there is a malfunction in the planchet feeding mechanism and no planchet is fed into the striking chamber allowing the dies to strike each other. The obv. die will leave an impression in the rev. die and vice versa. Coins struck with these dies will exhibit details of both the obv and rev. on each side of the coin. The amount of detail can vary from barely discernable to very noticeable. Lamination

Dirt and impurities in the metal of the planchet can manifest themselves as cracks and peels on the struck coin. Split planchet

If the impurity is severe enough, it can case the planchet to split into two halves obv. and rev. If the planchet splits before the strike, the resulting coin will be thin and have detail on both sides but often intermingled with rough striations from the impurities. If the planchet splits after the strike, one side will have full detail and the other side will be blank and striated. In either case the coin will be thin. Missing Clad Layer

A clad coin with one of the clad layers missing either before the coin is struck or which is loose and falls away after the strike. The side of the coin with the clad layer missing will be copper colored showing the exposed copper core of the coin. The other side of the coin is normal. Double Strike

If a coin fails to be properly ejected from the striking chamber after being stuck and the dies come down again to strike the coin again, a double strike ocurs. Double strikes can occur with the second strike off center or on-center. In the same way triple and multiply struck coins occur.