Does the Mint sell coin planchets?
Or are they "spirited out" to eventually be bought by collectors?
It's hard for me to imagine how blank coin planchets end up with the struck coins.
"Two things are infinite: human stupidity and the universe; and I'm not sure about the universe."
-Albert Einstein-
Mistakes are natural. But repeated mistakes without reflection are something else. That may be the “stupidity” he was referring to. In research, he admitted uncertainty openly. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This shows humility. Even a Nobel laureate accepted doubt. That humility makes the quote less cynical and more observational.
Comments
-
I believe at one time they gave blank planchets to visitors at the mint as souvenirs.
Whether they still do or not I’m not sure.2 -
It's easy to see how they can make it into the bags of coins delivered out of the mint. Some coins are struck twice, for example, and some planchets skip the presses. Also, blanks or planchets can get stuck in the bins and then dislodge when they're filled with struck coins.
Also, at one time the mint sold a young collectors set that included a cent planchet.
2 -
They did sell cent blanks in a children's collector set a few years ago
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
1 -
Here is my Blank Planchet type set, still working on it.
10 -
@Russell12 said:
Here is my Blank Planchet type set, still working on it.That's nice!
"Two things are infinite: human stupidity and the universe; and I'm not sure about the universe."
-Albert Einstein-Mistakes are natural. But repeated mistakes without reflection are something else. That may be the “stupidity” he was referring to. In research, he admitted uncertainty openly. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This shows humility. Even a Nobel laureate accepted doubt. That humility makes the quote less cynical and more observational.
1 -
Interesting that PCGS calls all of these pieces "mint errors", grades some of them but "genuines" others.
"Two things are infinite: human stupidity and the universe; and I'm not sure about the universe."
-Albert Einstein-Mistakes are natural. But repeated mistakes without reflection are something else. That may be the “stupidity” he was referring to. In research, he admitted uncertainty openly. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This shows humility. Even a Nobel laureate accepted doubt. That humility makes the quote less cynical and more observational.
0 -
@Greenstang said:
I believe at one time they gave blank planchets to visitors at the mint as souvenirs.
Whether they still do or not I’m not sure.I went on a tour of the Denver mint two years ago and they gave us all a penny and a planchet in plastic. Not sure about now.
4 -
Workers would spirit bullets out of the retail outfitter warehouse that I once worked at as an AP specialist. The metal detector at the door was unable to pick up the bullets, even the expensive ones used for hunting big African game. I can imagine the Mints have had similar issues with spiriting of planchets by it's workers from time-to-time. The zinc penny planchets (2.5g) retail for a couple bucks apiece. The 95% coppers (3.1g) retail for about twice that much, or $5, although I've seen them priced higher.
"Two things are infinite: human stupidity and the universe; and I'm not sure about the universe."
-Albert Einstein-Mistakes are natural. But repeated mistakes without reflection are something else. That may be the “stupidity” he was referring to. In research, he admitted uncertainty openly. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This shows humility. Even a Nobel laureate accepted doubt. That humility makes the quote less cynical and more observational.
1 -
@1776Coins said:
@Greenstang said:
I believe at one time they gave blank planchets to visitors at the mint as souvenirs.
Whether they still do or not I’m not sure.I went on a tour of the Denver mint two years ago and they gave us all a penny and a planchet in plastic. Not sure about now.
I would imagine they still do
"Another day, another Collectors Universe forum scrolling session."
- Someone, probably0 -
@mr1931S said:
Workers would spirit bullets out of the retail outfitter warehouse that I once worked at as an AP specialist. The metal detector at the door was unable to pick up the bullets, even the expensive ones used for hunting big African game. I can imagine the Mints have had similar issues with spiriting of planchets by it's workers from time-to-time. The zinc penny planchets (2.5g) retail for a couple bucks apiece. The 95% coppers (3.1g) retail for about twice that much, or $5, although I've seen them priced higher.The kids Explore and Discover Coin Set 2019 $22.95 on the mi ts website.
0 -
@Goob said:
@1776Coins said:
@Greenstang said:
I believe at one time they gave blank planchets to visitors at the mint as souvenirs.
Whether they still do or not I’m not sure.I went on a tour of the Denver mint two years ago and they gave us all a penny and a planchet in plastic. Not sure about now.
I would imagine they still do
It would make a good email to the mint
Note: send a pic posted to0 -
@mr1931S said:
It's hard for me to imagine how blank coin planchets end up with the struck coins.To answer this specific aspect of the OP question: yes, in theory a blank can slip straight through the presses without being struck.
You've seen those rather rare mint errors where the coin design is almost completely not there - like, it's 90% or 95% off-centre? Well, from a certain point of view, a blank planchet is 100% off-centre.
Of course, the vast majority of blanks out there on the market probably never went anywhere near the actual coin presses and escaped the mint via other means, legitimate or otherwise. Or, for the planchets not actually made at the mint, maybe they never even went near the mint in the first place (this is why zinc penny blanks are much more common than other planchet types). But yes, it is theoretically possible for a blank to fall straight through the press untouched, and end up in the "finished coin" bag.
Modern coin presses are vertically aligned and gravity-assisted - blank planchets go in at the top, and finished coins fall out at the bottom. So it's much harder for it to work the other way - for a finished coin to somehow go flying up somewhere, and wind up in the planchet hopper to be struck again. Which is why overstrikes are rarer than blank planchets.
Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.1
Leave a Comment
Categories
- All Categories
- 520K Coins and Currency - PCGS
- 328.5K U.S. Coin Forum
- 14.8K PCGS Set Registry Forum
- 5.2K Q & A Forum
- 41.4K World & Ancient Coins Forum
- 3K U.S. & World Currency Forum
- 96.4K Buy, Sell, & Trade - U.S. Coins
- 7.3K Buy, Sell & Trade - World & Ancient Coins
- 1.5K Buy, Sell & Trade - Currency
- 60 Random
- 246.2K Trading Cards, Autographs and Memorabilia - PSA
- 90.3K Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
- 1.7K Autographs Forum
- 16.4K PSA Set Registry Forum
- 22K Sports Talk
- 115K Buy, Sell & Trade - Cards & Memorabilia
- 663 Buy, Sell & Trade - Autographs
- 2.2K Stamps
- 1.5K Stamps Forum
- 670 Buy, Sell & Trade - Stamps
- 83 Coin Shows
- 83 General Coin Show Information and Discussion
- 11.9K Misc
- 11.9K Testing Forum