Lincoln Wheat Cent error find
dcarr
Posts: 8,697 ✭✭✭✭✭
I recently bought a few rolls of Wheat Cents at a local coin shop, to use in over-striking.
As I culled through them, I came across this one and my first thought was, well, that is really defective and I can't use it for the intended purpose. But then I realized that it was actually a genuine straight-clipped planchet error. And then I noted the date, which I think makes it a lot more unusual. And the grade is pretty nice also. I guess the coin shop thought it was damaged since an EF grade undamaged 1925-D cent is worth pricing individually (about $12).
One way to tell a genuine clipped-planchet mint error is the "Blakesley Effect". When a planchet is rolled on the edge to upset the rim, if there is a void in the planchet then the area opposite from the void does not have the rim raised up normally. The result on the struck coin is that the rim appears flattened opposite of the clip (see the area from 7:00 to 8:00 on the obverse, 10:00 to 11:00 on the reverse).
A curved clip occurs when a blank is punched out of a sheet where the punch overlaps part of an existing hole from a previous punch. The radius of the curvature of the clip will match the radius of the normal coin.
A straight clip (like this one) occurs when a planchet is punched partially off the edge of the sheet. The sheet stock is formed by rolling out ingots of metal (bronze in this case). Any impurity (such as brass) is elongated in the direction of rolling. The edge of the sheet is also parallel to the direction of rolling. So if a genuine straight clip coin has any planchet streaks, they will almost always be parallel to the flat edge of the clip. Note the brass streak on the reverse, which is parallel to the clip edge.
Comments
Classic, and genuine!
Nice roll find, wow!
2003-present
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Amazing people spent it without a second thought.
Highly unusual find. An error that doesn't require a magnifying glass to be seen ... high circulated grade ... 1925-D!
Sweet find!
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Surprised the shop did not recognize the error. Unless they bought the rolls from someone w/o checking the contents. Might be a good shop to check in on in the future if they missed this error. May be more to uncover.
Pretty amazed that made it into bulk Wheats. Even besides the error - I think it makes full AU, and this is a better strike than the majority of 25-D cents. Awesome find.
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fka renman95, Sep 2005, 7,000 posts
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Good eye Dan. And a great rescue from the flotsam and jetsam of coins. Peace Roy
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That is a great roll find.... Always fun to find unexpected little treasures. Cheers, RickO
Perhaps an inspiration for future overstikes?
There are important diagnostics for straight clips in the first post that are worth noting (direction of flaws/rolling).
Looks to be a mixed alloy also
Yup. Great woodgrain toning. Are you going to get it slabbed?
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
This is a super cool find.
One note: the shape of a curved clip will not always match the curvature of the circumference of a normal cent. Sometimes the strike will distort the shape enough that they do not closely match. I would say this happens more commonly with larger curved clips.
Excellent!
Not at this time. Maybe later.
Yes, striking can definitely distort the curvature of the clip. Prior to striking, the curvature should be pretty close to the radius of a punched blank, unless there is an unusual circumstance where different diameter blanks are punched from the same sheet.
Nice find! The details are pretty good for the year too.
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Thanks for sharing some of the tell tale signs of straight and curved clipped coins... the 1924-D is a great "end of sheet" clip
It's all about what the people want...
A magnificent example of a coin THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE SLABBED!!!
Thanks for tagging me in this thread, as I would have missed it. Great example, undoubtedly genuine and not really something I would rush to get certified, though YMMV. The Blakesley effect is particularly strong, such that a knowledgeable error collector would have no concerns about authenticity.
Any Denver mint clip from the late teens on through the late 1930s is harder to find than their Philly and San Francisco counterparts, though within that range examples from the early 20s are the most common. I took a quick cellphone pic of the one in my date set, which has a similar (but smaller) straight clip.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Cool find. I really like the looks of that one.
A follow-up and back story to this thread. When I first saw this thread, I PM'ed Dan and asked if I could purchase his 25-D.
Here's the rest of the story:
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Pretty cool!
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Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
What we need is a 1910 VDB
Very cool find @dcarr! The Blakesley Effect is the first thing I look for with clips.
Do you, @FredWeinberg, @Byers, or @ErrorsOnCoins recall the first name of Mr. Blakesley? I've spent some time looking for it and haven't found it yet, though I do know he's from California and published his research in Errorscope.
Oh, I'm sure people thought about it, as in "I hope they let me spend it for a cent!"
That’s true, they may have thought someone would accuse them of clipping the metal. Although in those days copper wasn’t as expensive proportionately as it is now.
You should post that coin in the dcarr error thread. Also if either of you decide to part with those coins (the '08-S or the '25-D), you know who should be your first call
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Are you referring to me Sean?
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Nice find, and excellent point about the "grain" of the metal flow paralleling the straight clip.