Roger B. sent me a copy of Mint correspondence from 1884 where the Coiner was responding to the Superintendent about a complaint to his Department that only a very low percentage of the gold melted (less that 24%) was successfully coined. (Something the Mints routinely kept track of, and normally well over 50%, factoring in the reality that the webbing of a planchet strip has to be remelted after the blanks are punched out of it.)
The Coiner blamed the problem on the poor quality of the Copper being used for alloying purposes. He said that planchet strips were cracking in the rolling mills. I do not know if that is what happened to this 1849 Dollar, but it is a possibility.
The Mints recycled gold all the time. They could have gotten in a batch of foreign gold coins that had bad alloy in them. Gold deposits were not refined down to pure gold and then re-alloyed, they were melted together, tested and the fineness then adjusted up (with a bit of pure gold) or down (with a bit of copper or silver, depending on the year) to the U.S. standards. What was already in the alloy stayed in the alloy.
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
Yes, I sold Allen of Northern Nevada Coin this CC Morgan mint error in 1999 at the Chicago ANA. One of the most dramatic mint errors in the Morgan Dollar series for sure!
mikebyers.com Dealer in Major Mint Errors, Die Trials & Patterns - Author of NLG Best World Coin Book World's Greatest Mint Errors - Publisher & Editor of minterrornews.com.
mikebyers.com Dealer in Major Mint Errors, Die Trials & Patterns - Author of NLG Best World Coin Book World's Greatest Mint Errors - Publisher & Editor of minterrornews.com.
I think this is a case of the social media guy making a mistake. The coin clearly has wear, so saying it broke during striking doesn't really track. But if the planchet already had a crack when it was struck, it could have circulated a bit before it broke, in which case someone probably put it aside for novelty's sake.
If I had to guess, all broken planchet errors occurred after quality checking was done at the mint. In the case of a BU dollar, this likely happened in the bank bag during transport.
Do I get the hype? No. Is the double holder a cool conversation piece worth a grand or two? Maybe..
@2windy2fish said: @Byers
💯 agree, this coin needs t be resubmitted as a mint error, otherwise PCGS will simply details holder the coin.
I have seen cracked planchets in both P and N holders as mint errors, so it’s not an issue…
I Don't know the history of this one being submitted, but I've owned it for probably 10 years or so. It's straight graded not listed as a mint error and a great Cracked planchet example.
I wonder if the submitter was charged twice since the coin is in two different holders. It would be pretty funny if each half of the coin had different grades.
Comments
Roger B. sent me a copy of Mint correspondence from 1884 where the Coiner was responding to the Superintendent about a complaint to his Department that only a very low percentage of the gold melted (less that 24%) was successfully coined. (Something the Mints routinely kept track of, and normally well over 50%, factoring in the reality that the webbing of a planchet strip has to be remelted after the blanks are punched out of it.)
The Coiner blamed the problem on the poor quality of the Copper being used for alloying purposes. He said that planchet strips were cracking in the rolling mills. I do not know if that is what happened to this 1849 Dollar, but it is a possibility.
The Mints recycled gold all the time. They could have gotten in a batch of foreign gold coins that had bad alloy in them. Gold deposits were not refined down to pure gold and then re-alloyed, they were melted together, tested and the fineness then adjusted up (with a bit of pure gold) or down (with a bit of copper or silver, depending on the year) to the U.S. standards. What was already in the alloy stayed in the alloy.
Then there is this eponymous one:
https://northernnevadacoin.com/amazing-broken-cc/
Yes, I sold Allen of Northern Nevada Coin this CC Morgan mint error in 1999 at the Chicago ANA. One of the most dramatic mint errors in the Morgan Dollar series for sure!
Allen wrote an article for Mint Error News on some of his CC Morgan Dollar mint errors, including his 1884 CC split after strike.
https://minterrornews.com/features-7-22-22-collecting-carson-city-errors.html
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I think this is a case of the social media guy making a mistake. The coin clearly has wear, so saying it broke during striking doesn't really track. But if the planchet already had a crack when it was struck, it could have circulated a bit before it broke, in which case someone probably put it aside for novelty's sake.
If I had to guess, all broken planchet errors occurred after quality checking was done at the mint. In the case of a BU dollar, this likely happened in the bank bag during transport.
Do I get the hype? No. Is the double holder a cool conversation piece worth a grand or two? Maybe..
Hey, this one looks familiar! Nice meeting you at FUN, hope you can get the mint error designation on this one with a numerical grade.
I Don't know the history of this one being submitted, but I've owned it for probably 10 years or so. It's straight graded not listed as a mint error and a great Cracked planchet example.
I wonder if the submitter was charged twice since the coin is in two different holders. It would be pretty funny if each half of the coin had different grades.