Admin Table of Contents
How do you tell if a penny is a misprint?
Doubling of letters, numbers, or other details on a coin can be indicative of an error. Some of the most common areas to look for doubling on a coin are: The coin’s date. Inscriptions such as “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” or “E PLURIBUS UNUM”
How do you tell if a coin is damaged?
Common examples of damaged coins (those with PMD) are any U.S. coins with:
- Heavy scratches or gouges.
- Dents and dings on the rim.
- Odd lettering or stamps on a coin.
- Gold plating or strange coloring.
- Tall or deep rims.
- Holes and bumps.
- And almost anything else unusual that goes into the coin’s surface.
What does an oxidized penny look like?
As they are exposed to the environment, pennies become coated with a layer of copper oxide, making them look tarnished (with a dull, brown, dirty appearance). Copper oxide dissolves in a mixture of weak acid and table salt.
Are deformed pennies worth anything?
Now, there are cases where a silver penny is actually created by the penny design having been mistakenly struck on a dime planchet. These rare errors are valuable and worth about $250 and up.
Why is a cleaned coin considered damaged?
Improper cleaning can result in a coin’s surface being damaged beyond repair, which is why expert attention is needed for potentially valuable coins. If a coin is shown to be damaged by cleaning then it will be marked as “Improperly Cleaned” or have a problem description by grading services.
What do coin errors look like?
Common places to notice such an error include the chin, eyes, and ears. Look for any cracks, cuds (or blobs covering an image, word, date, etc.), or missing elements on the images. Turn the coin from top to bottom (no, side-to-side will not work), if your coin was right side up before, it should be right side up now.
What does a penny with a stuck die look like?
With each strike against other pennies, the stuck coin gets flatter and flatter and ends up getting shaped around the die. This can make the die cap error coin look something like a bottle cap. These rare penny errors are often worth $250 or more.
What happens if there is an error in a penny?
Sometimes only a few coins (and sometimes a few thousand) will escape from the U.S. Mint before the error is noticed. In some cases, if the mistake is caught early enough, the doubled die coins will be recalled from the stockpile that’s ready for distribution into circulation and be destroyed.
How can you tell if a penny has been doubled?
Many doubled die pennies show the most prominent doubling in the inscriptions or date. However, a few exhibit so much doubling that it’s even obvious in the design details. For example, the 1984 doubled die penny shows significant doubling of Lincoln’s earlobe.
What makes an error Penny look like a bottle cap?
One of the weirdest types of penny errors is the die cap — which occurs when a penny gets stuck to a die for many strikes. With each strike against other pennies, the stuck coin gets flatter and flatter and ends up getting shaped around the die. This can make the die cap error coin look something like a bottle cap.