1995 d nickel struck on T1 blank
wrthtuppence
Posts: 29 ✭
Scored this coin on ebay. The following is my amateur interpretation. Corrections are welcome!
From what I can tell, it's a nickel that was struck on a blank that managed to slip pass the annealing oven, washing station, and upset mill before being struck. Having skipped the annealing step, the blank would have been abnormally hard and it's this that's caused the 'weak strike' look. On the rim (apologies for bad pics), you can see the shear and tear marks left by the blank cutting machine. No clue about how common/scarce this kind of error is - just think it's interesting!
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Comments
Post mint damage (PMD)
@ifthevamzarockin It's nearly mint state and weighs 5g. Trust me, it's not a sandpapered coin.
I'm guessing it's an actual washing machine coin that was stuck just right to repeatedly get rinsed, washed and repeated...which changed the appearance and "feel" of the composition...
Experts?!?!
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
I'm leaning PMD as well.
That raised section of the rim on the reverse is one sign.
a blank struck would form a poorly struck rim.
How did the ebay listing describe the coin?
PMD. It just doesn’t look right to me.
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
Post Mint damage.
Agree with PMD.
My War Nickels https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/nickels/jefferson-nickels-specialty-sets/jefferson-nickels-fs-basic-war-set-circulation-strikes-1942-1945/publishedset/94452
I'm in the PMD / washing machine coin camp.
Coins struck on Type 1 Blanks, in the collar,
do not have the 'wide flat rim' on the reverse.
They would look almost normal, as the diameter
of a T. 1 and T.2 Planchet as minuscule.
I note in the photo what appears to be the
'cut and tear' marks on the edge; however,
I can't tell if the coin might have been on a
T.1 blank and then damaged, or if the damage
also includes the edge of the coin.
In any case, it's been damaged after it was struck, imo.
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
@FredWeinberg I'm kind of struggling to think of a conclusive test/observation to rule out that kind of error or PMD (either way). What's convincing me that it's the former is the condition of the coin which, as I said above, is nearly mint (save for two dings on the edge), and also the pattern of design loss on the obverse, which more resembles that of a weak strike, etc. than a sandpapered, vised, or naturally worn coin. I can't accurately convey the condition with my camera though so that's almost irrelevant here.
It weighs 4.9g which is within tolerance but less than typical for a nickel. Such a weight is possible for both a normal nickel and an altered one so that's not helpful either. The thickness of the edge is visually equal to that of a normal nickel (I don't have calipers on me) and thicker than a comparable sandpapered nickel (which I do happen to have on hand).
I have in the last few minutes managed to find some images online of confirmed struck on T1 blank nickels and comparing them to my nickel, the obverse looks the same but the reverse looks odd - more like a damaged nickel. So yeah, is it an actual error that was altered? What are the odds of that? Strange.
Sorry for the wall of text.
found some images online?
post pics here.
@wrthtuppence
I’m going to go against the grain here and say that it is an error coin. Though I don’t know precisely what the error is for sure
It could have been struck on a Type 1 planchet, or some other type of pre-strike planchet defect/damage.
The obverse looks like a typical low-pressure strike, though as you say, the reverse is odd.
I think I am seeing metal flow in all the letters along the periphery of the reverse. If you can get some close up, crisp shots of “E PLURIBUS”, I think this will be evident.
On the reverse the flatness around the edge looks higher in relief than the struck areas. That would imply it was ground down. But it might just be the way it looks on my screen.
Not necessarily. The planchet may not have been thick enough along the rims to allow any impression from the dies to be made. The point of upsetting the rim on a blank is to ensure the design rim gets struck up.
I'm sticking with classic "dryer coin"...I'm sure Fred's Type 1 blank strike description was super accurate.
Think of it this way...the coin is stuck rotating one side up, partially contacting metal at the edge, occasionally being ejected to get tossed and banged about a bit...but cant flip over. the center making either no contact or maybe even only contact with a rubber grommet or belt. So an originally FS nickel ends up barely touched in the center but also somewhat smoothed/buffed by plastic or hard rubber
...I feel like I can picture it happening in a few different ways....ever seen a disassembled old washing machine?
Also the bigger smashes on the edges could happen before even entering the washing machine, but I could also see how it could happen once getting stuck and temporarily unstuck...notice the bigger dings are on opposite edges just like what would happen in a quick hard metallic squeeze from rolling the edge, the dinged edges even have a bit of a roll to them.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Here are the examples I found online. Couldn't get the image files so they'll just have to be links.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ngc-ms-65-jefferson-nickel-stamped-on-a-blank-no-rim.316493/
https://coins.ha.com/itm/errors/1985-d-5c-jefferson-nickel-struck-on-a-type-1-blank-planchet-ngc-504-grams/a/1175-11050.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Archive-ThisAuction-120115
It's not a washing machine damaged coin. It's not beat up in any way. There are parallel striations in the blank parts of the reverse around the rim which could be from abrasion, but there's no such pattern in the Monticello (something I would expect from a coin that's been abraded).
washing machine coins don't get ground down. If the coin is sitting between a moving drum and the wall, it just gets ground down on the contact part of the coin. If the lip is thin, you get exactly what you see: a coin that is ground down a few millimeters into the coin along the rim. That also explains why there are striations on the rim as the coin would have been rolling on its edge.
That is PMD.... likely a washing machine/dryer coin... If you continue to believe it is an error coin, submit it to our hosts.... Then it will be looked at in hand (likely by Fred) and a decision rendered. Cheers, RickO