Kinda neat cherrypick - Lincoln cent with an incomplete clip

seanq · November 13, 2019 2:39PM

For the uninitiated, an "incomplete clip" is when the blanking punch partially cuts into a planchet but it remains in one piece. Depending on how deeply it penetrated, it could look like a circular scratch or it could show metal flow on adjacent design elements. It will usually show onto the rim, since that is under the least striking pressure.

This coin was listed as a double clip, from the seller's pic below it wasn't clear if the arc showing on the obverse was toning or in the surface. Because the arc matched the two adjacent full clips, and because the coin was dated 1972 (the most common date for this error type), I took a shot on it. I was the only bidder on this seven day auction. Seller's pic:

I now have the coin in hand, and it is one of the nicest and deepest incomplete clips I have seen. My quickie cell phone pics:

There is a long thread here if you want to see several other nice examples of this error, including one on a pattern coin. I'll probably bump it with these pics since the coin shows the error so well.

Sean Reynolds

FredWeinberg · November 13, 2019 2:47PM

Nice example of a seldom-seen error type.

In the '60's, I collected Incomplete clips, and wrote
articles for the Errorscope and Error Trends Mag.
on them -

They were scarce at the time, and they're seldom
encountered, I've found, in the past decades.

Good catch !

ricko · November 13, 2019 4:11PM

Very interesting... I have not seen one like that before....And if Fred W. says they are scarce, well, we who do not deal in errors may never see another....Cheers, RickO