Hello all, I have a coin that has an obvious error (please see photos), but there is a dispute as to whether or not it is a mint error. I took this coin to two separate coin/jewelry shops in my town and the first person believes it is a mint error due to the fact that you can see faint letters "ICA" in the damaged area where they should have been struck in the word "AMERICA" in back, as well as the "border line" (for lack of proper term) on the obverse side (I cannot remember the term the person used for this type of error, as I am very new to coin errors). However, the other person at a different store almost immediately identified it as a post mint error. The coin is also not perfectly circular, it sort of juts out at the error site. It is also not as thick at the error site. *I know the photos are not the best quality (taken on my phone) but any thoughts about this coin as you see it would be great. Thank you so much! If anyone thinks this is worth me obtaining better photos, I can find someone to help me with that also.
PMD post mint damage. Looks like it got pinched in something. I can’t tell what though but it doesn’t look like a vice did it as I don’t see any teeth or serration marks. Reed.
You must understand that just because a person owns a coinshop they are not always specialists in mint errors. Your Cent is DEFDAM - Definitely Damaged Not a mint error of any kind.
First, welcome to the neighborhood, Heather! Most dealers don't have the time to search coins for errors and varieties, so it is easy to understand why most of them don't know squat about this niche market. Likewise, most newcomers to numismatics as a hobby know very little about coin production and are, therefore, unable to recognize the differences between normal coins, errors & varieties and post-mint damage. That is why I strongly advise newbies to stop putting the cart before the horse and learn how coins are made, first. Chris
Hi Heather - you will see that many coins running through your fingers had (or are having) a hard life. People get bored and fiddle with (damage) their coins. Others are forgotten in pockets and later washed and tumbled. You will see here that a number of folks will post dryer coins and vise-jobs (were folks press coins together to create reverse images). It's especially heartbreaking when you find a real error or variety coin that someone has deliberately damaged leaving it a details coin. It's criminal!
