Crafting To Save Money

One of the most interesting areas to coin collectors are mint errors. When the mint strikes a coin and makes a mistake, then collectors seek these coins out as a prized addition to their collection. In the coin world, these errors actually make the coins more valuable than other coins of the same year. Below is a list of three of the coolest coin errors to ever be produced. While most error coins are snapped up in the hands of collectors, there is one coin listed in the article that you still might find in everyday circulation.

1955 Lincoln Penny- Double Die

This is probably the most famous US coin error ever produced.  All of the coins were minted at the Philadelphia mint. Estimates have it that close to twenty thousand made it into circulation.

The mistake on these pennies was very visible. The date is doubled and clearly seen to even someone who is not inspecting the coin for slight problems. Because of the high visibility of this error, most of the coins have been taken out of circulation and are in the hands of collectors. You can buy them from a reputable coin dealer; just make sure that you buy one that has been graded by one of the licensed coin grading services. There have been instances of people trying to reproduce the error and creating counterfeit 1955 double die coins.

1937 Buffalo Nickel-3 Legs Instead of 4

This is an interesting example of a non-date related error. The two dies became damaged because a planchet (the blank metal used to make the coin) failed to be placed in between them when they struck. This was a malfunction on the machine feeding apparatus. When the two dies collided, they caused an imprint on each other.

The story goes that the person working the production line was inexperienced and decided to try and polish down the imprint and fix the dies rather than trash them and use a different set. Part of the polishing down on the dies ended up removing one leg of the buffalo.

This became a highly prized error coin, and of course the counterfeiters followed. It seems like it would be an easy copy, all you have to do is remove the leg. However, there is always evidence of the removal to the trained eye. A true three legged buffalo coin will be completely smooth and free of marks because it was minted that way.

1984 Lincoln Penny- Double Ear

This coin is still in circulation because it is fairly new. While most people refer to this coin as the "double ear" because the portrait of Lincoln has a doubled earlobe, there are actually a few other spots that are doubled. You can also spot doubling on the chin, as well as the bow-tie.

These coins were minted at the Philadelphia mint, and there were only around 2000 of them made. They were the result of an off-set hubbing mistake. This happened because the hub was placed in the coin press slightly off center during the first pressing. It was corrected for the second impression, but the first press affected the center of the coin and created a "double" Lincoln image in certain areas.

The interesting thing about this coin is that the date was not affected by the mistake. Only the portrait of Lincoln was affected. Because there was no obvious mistake on the date, this coin did not generate a lot of publicity. Coin hunters are used to scanning dates for errors, and often overlooked this one. Therefore, you might still find this in everyday circulation, even though there were not many minted. To learn more, speak with someone like Dr. Richard S. Appel.