Pattern coins……so much for change

The Old Standby Ever think that US money is kind of boring? Go on, admit it, you know it is. It is almost like there is a formula for our coins today. Old dead white dude on the obverse, American iconic image on the reverse. For the coins in our pocket, it is almost...

Hub & Die Errors

OK last massive post on errors, at least for now. We have talked about what errors happen in the preparation and striking process, so now we finish with problems in the die itself. The machinery is working fine, but its elements have issues. (Don’t we all) Guess what,...

Striking errors

Although they are quite noticeable, I am not referring to striking in that way! (adjective: attracting attention by reason of being unusual, extreme, or prominent) After our talk on Planchet Errors, now we are going to talk about striking errors. Now there are many...

Planchet errors

OK so let’s dive in a bit more from our last post on error coins, specifically on planchet errors. Three of the nine listed varieties have to deal with planchet. So definition time. A planchet is a round metal disk that is all set up and good to go to be struck as a...

When an error is not a mistake

The OED lists the definition or Error as (1) A mistake  or   (1.3 technical) A measure of the estimated difference between the observed or calculated value of a quantity and its true value. In the world of coins, the 1.3 definition is much more important than the 1...

Classifying coins

Classifying coins or coin catalogs Ever wonder why when you see coin catalogs they are listed in a particular order? Well it is not just the OCD parts of us coming out, it is for ease and consistency. When numismatists (someone who studies coins) started getting...

What’s your type ….coins?

Type coins, what they are, they and why they matter. Getting into Collecting So we have touched on all the types of coins there are out there, with a focus on the US coins. As you might imagine, if you get into world and ancients there is a mind numbing amount of...

Special coins?

I got this post today from a friend. It is a great post about special coins. I liked that they talked about coin varieties that are unique and can fetch more then their face value. However I want to tell you that there are more then just these eight instances. There...

A Two Million dollar dime, I want one!

So this story has been blowing up the internet. I am sure you have seen it. I have had about 10 people post it to me. If you have not, here is the gist. A coin collector bought a dime (yea a 10 cent piece) for $1,997,500 in Tampa on January 7, 2016. Is it awesome,...