Are rotated dies worth any premium??

RickMilauskas · July 17, 2006 2:40AM

I have an uncirculated 1922D Lincoln cent with a 20 % rotated die. Would this be worth any premium??

Russ · July 17, 2006 2:45AM

Little to none in this case. Some coins do bring a premium, though. It just depends on how common or rare they are. For example, the 1864 Two Cent Piece is common with rotated dies, so even a 180 degree rotation brings little premium. The 1965 SMS Kennedy brings a stong premium, though, since it's rare.

Russ, NCNE

cladking · July 17, 2006 3:20AM

Most moderns bring premiums with rotated dies. They aren't necessarily less common than
the older coins but there is a great deal more interest in them. The states coins can bring
up to $1000 each and even a more mundane coin like the '88-P 50c can bring up to $500.
I'd guess the mintage on the '88 is in the 12,000 vicinity but there is some attrition.

Fletcher · July 17, 2006 3:32AM

seateddime · July 17, 2006 4:00AM

some are worth a big premium

BillJones · July 17, 2006 4:06AM

My general reaction to rotated dies.

ABC123 · July 17, 2006 4:12AM

The 180 degree rotation = $ $ $ $

RotatedRainbows · July 17, 2006 4:23AM

On most coins where the rotation is under 90° there rarely is any premium, a few exceptions would be State Quarters, Silver Dollars and Gold but even then a rotation as small as 20° would probably not attract much attention (mint tolerance is 15° in either direction). You need at least 45° for the few rotated die error collectors out there to start to take notice.

For Lincoln cents closer to 90° is needed to get much attention, most early Lincoln dates can be found with some degree of minor rotation. The older the coin is the more common it is to find minor rotations on them. I believe sometime around the 1850's the mint started to grind flat spots on the die shafts to help keep the dies from coming loose and rotating. Before that it did not take much for the dies to rotate if the mint employees did not keep tightening the set screws.

Fletcher · July 17, 2006 4:27AM

RR ... I checked out your web page. You have an amazing collection of rotated dies. I hope that you display them sometime as I would really like to see them all together

DNADave · July 17, 2006 4:27AM

kiyote · July 17, 2006 4:29AM

Some 1989 Congressional dollars have a medallic rotation that would fetch big bucks.

xbob · July 17, 2006 4:38AM

I plan on keeping this one (especially since it was my own find rather than bought), but it's nice to hear the state quarters may be an exception and worth a premium.

cladking · July 17, 2006 4:54AM

When the hammer die comes lose it has a tendency to move until it's at 180 degrees to its starting point.

The design of the coins causes this since they tend not to have high points opposite one another. It's not
possible to put most of the dies in in the wrong orientation.

RotatedRainbows · July 17, 2006 5:10AM

<< <i>RR ... I checked out your web page. You have an amazing collection of rotated dies. I hope that you display them sometime as I would really like to see them all together

>>

Thanks, Fletch, unfortunately if you got three people in the room at the bank where my deposit box is at it would be the equivalent of being in a sardine can.

I usually visit them a couple of times a year just to make sure they are doing fine.

<< <i>Some 1989 Congressional dollars have a medallic rotation that would fetch big bucks. >>

Over the years I have heard many people claim they are worth $3000 to $4000 but the few times I have seen them up for auction I have never seen the bidding exceed $500 except once, it was this Heritage auction where the coin sold for $1725 including juice 1989 closed auction (I believe it was the minimum reserve price) Shortly after they were discovered it was estimated by some of the coin experts ( I believe I read it one of the Krause Publications) that about 200 of them exist.

Are rotated dies worth any premium??

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