by Sage Doak

Created on: January 17, 2009   Last Updated: January 14, 2011

One day as you are looking though your pocket coin you notice one of your coins looks strange. On closer inspection you see the coin has been double stamped. Congratulations your small change may now be big dollars.

There are many coins which you may come across in your normal daily shopping activities. Even with only a little knowledge you can spot coins that will be able to bring in a nice amount of income. Coins that are worth more than face value usually come in one of two forms. These are error coins or coins that have rare dates or have value associated with their dates. The rest of this article will look briefly at what error coins are and the sort of things to look out for date wise. Although I'm not American I will use primarily American examples as this is the focus of my personal coin collecting. The same principles apply to coins of all other denominations and in most cases examples can be applied to your own currency if you're not American. Values of coins will depend on many things, with popularity often affecting value more than rarity. Exercise caution if getting into collecting these coins as many of them can be faked.

ERROR COINS

Error coins come in many forms. The main forms of errors are; Blank planchet, defective die, off centering, clipped planchet, broad strike, double die and brockage.

Blank planchets are coins that have escaped the press without being struck. Often the edges will be slightly raised due to the softening process. The values of these coins vary widely for many reasons. If you find one of these coins it is best to get it authenticated by an expert as there are many methods of faking these coins. One of the easiest ways to spot a fake is by looking at the rim, if your coin has a reeded rim then it is not a blank but most likely a coin that has been polished or ground down.

Defective dies are usually found when the die used to strike the planchet is becoming worn out. The most common form is a cracked die. If you notice what looks like a small crack on your coin which is raised above the face level then you probably have a defective die coin. The values of these coins will be most affected by the type of coin they appear on.

Off centered coins are usually easy to spot. Off centered coins are the result of a coin not entering the press properly, resulting in an off center image.

Clipped planchets are coins with bits missing. These will be either elliptical or straight. They are the result of a sheet of metal slipping or not

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