ICG graded 1909-S IHC question

Comments

• lkenefic Posts: 8,576 ✭✭✭✭✭

  April 23, 2010 10:15AM

  Lamination error... as struck OR Lacquered (ie dipped in a laquer to preserve it) ?
  
  L

  Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;
  
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• RedHerring Posts: 2,077 ✭

  April 23, 2010 10:17AM

  
  eBay link
  
  

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• lordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭

  April 23, 2010 10:27AM

  Lamination is a minor form of mint error (if only by means of poor quality control). Basically, as I understand it, a lamination is the result of improperly mixed alloy or impurities in the metal which cause flakes of metal to actually peel off from the surface of the coin. Laminations can be tiny or really dramatic and huge. Some people consider them to add interest (as a minor error), and others consider them to be a minor detraction (or a major one, depending on the severity of the laminations). They can detract from a coin's eye appeal but they also can add "character". I straddle the fence on that issue, and see it both ways.
  
  They're not really a major "problem", though, as far as I am concerned. Think of them as a minor mint error that doesn't command any premium.

  
  
  

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• ajman Posts: 1,359 ✭✭✭

  April 23, 2010 10:30AM

  Thanks Rob for your reply. It just goes to show that you can learn something new every day.

  Beer is Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy -Benjamin Franklin-

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• lordmarcovan Posts: 43,888 ✭✭✭✭✭

  April 23, 2010 10:48AM

  You're welcome. Of course the error gurus are welcome to refine or correct my definition as necessary.
  
  I've encountered the most laminations on nickels, it seems- mostly Liberty and Buffalo nickels. I have (or had) a 1911 Lib nick that was struck on a majorly laminated planchet which had lost metal before the coin went into the dies. It's a rather dramatic lamination. I've seen some pretty major ones (that peeled after striking) on War nickels, probably as a result of improperly mixed alloy (those had a rather strange alloy and the Mint didn't have too many years to tinker with it). For some reason, most of the laminated cents I have found have been early Lincoln cents from the 'teens and 'twenties. I am not surprised to see a 1909-S Indian with laminations. Some bronze Indian cents also get that characteristic "woodgrain" toning as a result of improperly mixed alloy. I used to think the "woodgrain" toning looked really weird, but it grew on me over time. A lot of copper collectors appreciate it.
  
  I can't remember seeing any 90% silver or gold coins with laminations, though I suppose it is possible.
  
  If I were bidding on that Indian I would want better pictures or at least a description of where the lamination(s) are and how big they are.
  
  Even supersized, those pictures don't tell us squat.
  
  Laminations are a double-edged sword, as I mentioned before, and perhaps even more tricky on a key date coin like that. If they're major (like the 1911 Lib nick I mentioned above) then they could fetch a modest premium as an error, but minor ones can have a slightly negative effect since they affect a coin's eye appeal. I don't see evidence of major lamination in the pictures.
  
  Sometimes the pluses and minuses cancel each other out- say for example if they distract from the coin's eye appeal, yet stand out enough to be interesting. Then you've got one plus and one minus, so overall it's neutral. But it's all in the eye of the beholder.
  
  Here's a coin from my daughter's collection which has a rather significant planchet flaw on bottom of the reverse. It's otherwise a lovely AU example. The planchet flaw is kind of ugly, but then again, it's kind of interesting. It is NOT post-mint damage. You can tell it was there before the strike, since the rim is raised there and the denticles are complete, if not quite fully struck.
  
  See what I mean? I was happy to get that piece. One postive aspect and one negative aspect canceled each other out. The red luster and the rest of the coin's pluses carried the day, and I bought it. The flaw might or might not be a lamination, but I think it is. Lots of bigger laminations look like that.

  
  
  

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