Ever see steel 1944 with error too?

It’s time to remind readers that many minor though extremely noteworthy error coins can be found and admired at coin shows. The upcoming Florida United Numismatists show in Tampa should be no different. I’m going to take you for a tour of some of the errors I have seen at shows in recent months to whet your appetite.

Brad Hawthorne of Michigan walked up to the CONECA table (where I and the gang answer questions) in late November at the Michigan State Numismatic Society show and asked us if we’d like to see a pair of 1944 steel cents.

Who wouldn’t?

Two steel 1944 cents walking into the Michigan show in late November. The two pieces were in ANACS slabs. Brad Hawthorne owns both. The one graded AU Details Net EF-40 had a Strike Through error on the reverse (see arrows). It was probably struck through grease. The one graded UNC Details Net AU-50 had no errors on it and is simply shown in the slab.

In short order he laid the pair down certified in the old small ANACS holders. What I found very interesting is to learn that over the course of many years of buying themin he had owned nine Philadelphia and four Denver issues. That’s 13 of these valuable rarities. Most collectors cannot hope to own even one.

One of the pieces Hawthorne had with him also sported a neat Strike Through error on the reverse (probably struck through grease).

My job was simply to admire it and photograph it for you. Enjoy.

There is a small Cud over the I in LIBERTY on this 1926-D Standing Liberty quarter.

Another really neat error to come in was a 1926-D quarter with Major Die Break (Cud) over I of LIBERTY from Dave Sutton of Mich. Cuds on Standing Liberty quarters are downright rare with only six listed in The Cud Book by Sam Thurman and Arnold Margolis. It was not listed there or in any of the other five books I have that list Cuds.

This is a Double Struck in Collar Flipover. In a nutshell what it means is you can see the obverse date 3 in the shield. The obverse became the reverse when the coin was struck a second time but the surviving obverse detail can still be seen.

Longtime friend Vaughn Pierson turned up with a beautiful 1903 Indian Head cent that was Double Struck in Collar Flipover. You can see the second date on the reverse to the right of the shield.

Richard Bateson turned up at a show last February with a wonderful example of a 1955-S Lincoln cent struck on an Improper Alloy Mix planchet. This type of error occurs when the metals (in this case copper, tin and zinc) do not get mixed properly and areas too rich in zinc and/or tin cause the copper to show streaks of a golden hue.

Off Center with Curved Clip planchet.

Keith Francis had a boatload of nice errors and one that caught my eye was a 198(2) zinc cent that featured a nice Off Center along with a good-sized Curved Clip planchet. His coin weighed 2 grams indicating that the clip took up a full half gram.

197X Double Struck Lincoln. The second strike is Off Center and fully struck overlapping onlo another planchet that had already entered the striking area.

Francis also had a 197(X) Double Struck Lincoln cent. The centered strike a centered weak strike and the second strike Off Center and fully struck overlapping onto another planchet that had already entered the striking area.

This is a 1962 nickel Struck on a Split Planchet that split away before the strike.

His next coin was a 1962 Jefferson nickel Struck On a Split Planchet that split away before the strike.

The outer silver-colored layer was missing when this New Jersey quarter was struck.

Jack Kozlowski brought a 1999-P New Jersey State quarter that was Missing Clad Layer Before Struck. It’s always neat to see the reverse missing the clad layer and he was happy to learn it was genuine.

Bruce Hubbard’s Capped Die Strike found in circulation is worth about $20. The reverse of a Capped Die Strike will be normal.

Bruce Hubbard brought a No Date nickel (Type 1 Obv&Rev) Struck Through Late Stage Capped Die. Earlier specimens of a coin struck from a capped die will show anything from strong to gradually weakening and mushrooming images of the reverse. As the coin that is stuck (capped) to the upper die continues to spread and thin the reverse design will gradually thin out and the obverse will begin to dominate. Early stages that show the reverse are referred to as Brockages while later stages after the revere has been obliterated are called Capped Die Strikes. On this one none of the reverse shows to any degree and Jefferson’s head is starting to show through.

This is a 1983 cent struck from a very late die state Capped Die Strike. Because you can see the date it is proof it is an even later die stage than the nickel above.

CONECA and MSNS YN member 13-year-old Emmanuel “Manny” Salas found a 1983 Lincoln cent struck from a very late die state die cap. As you can see on this one the date is now visible making it an even later die stage than Hubbard’s nickel. As an aside Manny and all his brothers and sisters won YN exhibit awards this fall at MSNS.

This is a Mid-Stage Brockage showing elements of both obverse and reverse on the obverse.

Just to be clear I’ll show a mid-stage Brockage where you can see plenty of the reverse design melding with the obverse design. For some reason you can make out the date on this one as a 1972 but the mintmark is not discernible. I’m not sure who submitted this one as it has been a few years.

What looks like mirrored doubling is due to the proof half dollar being struck the first time, resulting in machine doubling damage and then that damage was flattend by the second strike of the planchet by the die.

Another error that came in that is actually quite minor but interesting is a 1962 proof Franklin half dollar. This coin exhibits what is called Double Strike Flat Field Doubling. This occurs when Strike Doubling a.k.a. Machine Doubling (technically a form of damage that occurs just prior to or during ejection of a normal single strike coin) is then flattened out by the second (or third) strike required to mint a proof coin. Because it occurs before the final strike it is a true error but few collectors understand what it is or collect it.

A repunched CC mintmark is seen on this 1884-CC Morgan silver dollar.

Finally we look at an 1884-CC Morgan dollar exhibiting a nice Repunched Mintmark from Bateson that I believe he found at this show. The first underlying “C” is prominently to the west while the second “C” shows ever so slightly to the east. This one is listed as VAM-5.

Readers finding any new varieties are encouraged to report them to Numismatic News editor Dave Harper at David.Harper@fwmedia.com.

Ken Potter is co-author of “Strike It Rich With Pocket Change” and has been a frequent contributor to “Numismatic News.” http://koinpro.tripod.com.

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