Twenty Cent Piece Mint Error

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Boatnevrday
Boatnevrday Posts: 19 ✭
in U.S. Coin Forum

Good Morning,
I paid the ebay piper for this and was wondering if anyone is familiar with it. Has anyone seen another like it?

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  • RedRocket
    RedRocket Posts: 1,922 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Perhaps the error here is paying too much for a damaged coin?

  • JBK
    JBK Posts: 17,860 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 17, 2026 8:54AM
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    There was an error alright, but it wasn't on the coin. ;)

    The label says right on it that's it's damaged/scratched.

    P.S. - Yes, we've seen PMD like this before.

  • Boatnevrday
    Boatnevrday Posts: 19 ✭
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    I don't deny that there is a PMD scratch. What's up with all the out of place metal? It looks like a defaced die.
    Also, why would PCGS list the mint error as PMD scratch if it's actually a detail?

  • Creg
    Creg Posts: 1,734 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    No, and that is why they recorded PMD on the mint error line.

  • Boatnevrday
    Boatnevrday Posts: 19 ✭
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    Any theories about what happened to it to cause the raised lines?

  • LukeMarshall
    LukeMarshall Posts: 2,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    if you slice into a coin at an angle with a blade, it will raise the metal on one side

    It's all about what the people want...

  • Batman23
    Batman23 Posts: 5,472 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    The out of place metal is lifted/displaced by the underlying scratch. It is all PMD scratch.

  • Batman23
    Batman23 Posts: 5,472 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @Jordon said:
    Any theories about what happened to it to cause the raised lines?

    Someone got stuck with a 20 center instead of a quarter and put a warning for others to look closer???

  • JBK
    JBK Posts: 17,860 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Displaced metal has to go somewhere. If you cut a certain way into metal (sharp, thin cut) then the metal raises along the cut line.

    As for why PCGS put those details on the "Error" line, I have no idea. Maybe the submitter paid for error attribution and they answered it there?

  • TomB
    TomB Posts: 23,185 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    The only error with that coin is that you actually paid for it.

    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • CaptHenway
    CaptHenway Posts: 34,164 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Think of how a plow blade turns up a raised ridge of dirt alongside the furrow. Cut into a coin the right way and it will push up a raised ridge of metal next to the cut.

    This appears to have been a popular hobby in the 19th Century. A lot of coins were ruined this way. Yours was one of them.

    Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
  • Boatnevrday
    Boatnevrday Posts: 19 ✭
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    There doesn't seem to be a scratch associated with every part of these lines. If you look closely, there's some thick parts that have no cut on either side. I would immediately agree with you all based on the top half of the left line and the bottom of the right. However, the bottom of the left line has no scratch.

  • JBK
    JBK Posts: 17,860 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 17, 2026 9:31AM
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    It's sometimes possible to bend the raised ridge over the cut to conceal it. This can occur either intentionally or in circulation.

    But you acknowledge the some of the lines are cuts but you think that some are not? 🤔

    You bought a damaged coin that was labeled as damaged/PMD. It couldn't have been clearer. :/

    I'd suggest that you send it to PCGS to have them verify for you what it is, but that was already done. 🤷‍♂️

  • epc
    epc Posts: 459 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Looking at the TV, it looks to me like narrow scratch lines next to the entire lengths of the raised lines. The damage probably occurred long before the wear, and it doesn't look exactly like it did when originally damaged.

    Collector of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, including die pairs and die states

  • epc
    epc Posts: 459 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    If the ebay seller takes returns and the window is still open, you might want to take advantage...

    Collector of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, including die pairs and die states

  • Boatnevrday
    Boatnevrday Posts: 19 ✭
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    @JBK, I acknowledge that some parts look like cuts. But if they are, that doesn't explain everything i'm seeing.
    How can such a faint scratch raise so much metal? How could that line be uniform in height from one side to the other? How could there be no raised metal on the opposite side of the scratch?
    Wouldn't a scratch raise at least some metal on both sides?

  • JBK
    JBK Posts: 17,860 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    No, a cut would not necessarily raise metal on both sides.

    We're back to newbie territory on "errors". :# Just because it looks weird does not make it an error. You would need to explain how it happened during the minting process. In addition to acknowledged PMD, no less.

    Don't believe us - believe PCGS.

  • 291fifth
    291fifth Posts: 25,218 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Simply put, you bought a damaged coin, nothing more. If it was sold to you as an "error" at a premium or if you paid to have it certified by PCGS you made a big mistake by buying it.

    The coin should have been sold at a big discount to begin with.

    All glory is fleeting.
  • TomB
    TomB Posts: 23,185 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I guess every new troll needs to get fed the first time for all of us to learn.

    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • jmlanzaf
    jmlanzaf Posts: 43,044 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 17, 2026 10:22AM
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    PMD scratched. Just like PCGS and everyone else has said.

    Yes, I've seen a LOT just like that.

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.

  • safari_dude
    safari_dude Posts: 698 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Good new though…it’s a Top Pop coin! 😬

  • World67
    World67 Posts: 13,098 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Of all the scratched coins, this one is the most scratched.

  • johnny9434
    johnny9434 Posts: 34,049 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    You gonna send it in and get it graded?

  • vintagebanks
    vintagebanks Posts: 66 ✭✭✭
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    @Jordon said:
    @JBK, I acknowledge that some parts look like cuts. But if they are, that doesn't explain everything i'm seeing.
    How can such a faint scratch raise so much metal? How could that line be uniform in height from one side to the other? How could there be no raised metal on the opposite side of the scratch?
    Wouldn't a scratch raise at least some metal on both sides?

    You should repeat this phrase that you used in your other 20 cent piece post "Thank you all for your expertise and for educating me." Stop digging the hole.

  • Crypto
    Crypto Posts: 4,098 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 17, 2026 10:52AM
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    @Jordon said:
    @JBK, I acknowledge that some parts look like cuts. But if they are, that doesn't explain everything i'm seeing.
    How can such a faint scratch raise so much metal? How could that line be uniform in height from one side to the other? How could there be no raised metal on the opposite side of the scratch?
    Wouldn't a scratch raise at least some metal on both sides?

    not if the blade went in at an angle and then wore down a little. principles of displacement will explain everything

    11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set

  • P0CKETCHANGE
    P0CKETCHANGE Posts: 3,722 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Good lord, include a trigger warning in the thread title if you’re going to show gruesome coin gore like that. 🙃

    Nothing is as expensive as free money.

  • Boatnevrday
    Boatnevrday Posts: 19 ✭
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    Hah, lesson learned.
    Is that a dropped letter B in the shield?
    On to the next!!

  • TPring
    TPring Posts: 388 ✭✭✭
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    @Jordon said:
    @JBK, I acknowledge that some parts look like cuts. But if they are, that doesn't explain everything i'm seeing...

  • jesbroken
    jesbroken Posts: 11,252 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    No dropped letter B either. Just a beautiful piece of history destroyed by some bored person in the past.
    Jim


    When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln

    Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
  • 2windy2fish
    2windy2fish Posts: 1,143 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I think it should be noted here that it was scratched and then circulated for some time this making the scratches appear more like a defect in the die…

  • seanq
    seanq Posts: 8,834 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @2windy2fish said:
    I think it should be noted here that it was scratched and then circulated for some time this making the scratches appear more like a defect in the die…

    Read through all of this thread to say exactly this. This coin circulated for a long time after those scratches were made, and the subsequent wear acted to mask the damage that initially caused them. It is what PCGS said it is, a damaged coin.

    Sean Reynolds

    Incomplete planchets wanted, especially Lincoln Cents & type coins.

    "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
  • 2windy2fish
    2windy2fish Posts: 1,143 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Side note @Jordon it is an S/S variety.
    Not much premium but note worthy.

  • braddick
    braddick Posts: 25,183 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @Jordon said:
    I am now in agreement with you all. Thanks again everybody.

    All's well that ends well. It is still a 20c piece and might fit nicely in a type set album.

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