Options
Does the Mint sell coin planchets?
mr1931S
Posts: 7,108 ✭✭✭✭✭
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.
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
0
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.
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.
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.
Here is my Blank Planchet type set, still working on it.
That's nice!
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
Interesting that PCGS calls all of these pieces "mint errors", grades some of them but "genuines" others.
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
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.
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.
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
I would imagine they still do
"Another day, another Collectors Universe forum scrolling session."
- Someone, probably
The kids Explore and Discover Coin Set 2019 $22.95 on the mi ts website.
It would make a good email to the mint
Note: send a pic posted to
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.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.