For you error specialists out there

[mountainman 2]

Found this nickel out of a MWR today. I've found a cud or two but this looks like something else. Looks like it has a big die crack right thru the center and no detail at all. The reverse is normal. Anyone know what this is called and how it's caused? Thanks for reading and looking, MM2

 

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[Eminem]

Send it to the U.S Mint to be redeemed as mutilated currency.

http://www.usmint.gov/email/MUTILATEDCOIN.PDF

What he said get cho money back dawg the teller shouldn't have gave you that broken coin

 

[Jeffro]

Look at the area you call a die crack carefully under a loupe. I am suspecting lamination. I've seen this effect before on smaller areas of a coin, especially late 1800's-early 1900's coins. Later dates you can still see some examples of lamination although it is much less common.

Lamination happens when the metals don't mix all the way, or there is some sort of contamination in the metal when the sheets were made, prior to stamping out the blanks (planchets). After the planchets are struck, sometimes the layer of contamination, or the metal that wasn't completely melted together, can peel off. You will see what you see on your coin- a vague image with no detail, almost like it had gone through an acid bath.

I am assuming the reverse looks normal?

 

[mountainman 2]

Look at the area you call a die crack carefully under a loupe. I am suspecting lamination. I've seen this effect before on smaller areas of a coin, especially late 1800's-early 1900's coins. Later dates you can still see some examples of lamination although it is much less common.

Lamination happens when the metals don't mix all the way, or there is some sort of contamination in the metal when the sheets were made, prior to stamping out the blanks (planchets). After the planchets are struck, sometimes the layer of contamination, or the metal that wasn't completely melted together, can peel off. You will see what you see on your coin- a vague image with no detail, almost like it had gone through an acid bath.

I am assuming the reverse looks normal?

Thanks for your reply Jeffro. Yes, the reverse is normal.

 

[Diver_Down]

I would go with Jeffro, and agree with the lamination. The lack of detail as if the outer layer had flaked off resulting in the underneath layer showing.

 

[MrSchulz]

2) Where do I redeem Uncurrent coins?
You should contact your bank to redeem uncurrent coins at face value. (This includes
silver coins).


Government is trying to get your AG!!

 

[sagittarius98]

What he said get cho money back dawg the teller shouldn't have gave you that broken coin

You can send all your error coins to me. I'll give you double face, that's better than what the Mint gives you.

 

[mountainman 2]

I posted this in another forum as well. I was told that it was a struck through late stage die cap affixed to a split die. When I asked for further explanation, this is what i was told.

A die cap is what forms when a coin sticks to a die and then strikes a succession of planchets. The cap expands outward and upward, forming a wall that curls up toward the neck of the hammer (in this case, obverse) die. The bottom of the cap gets progressively thinner, allowing more and more of the design to bleed through.

A split die is an overgrown die crack that extends deep into the die neck, allowing the sides of the crack to spread apart.

Thanks Jeffro for taking the time to post on it. I was glad to see a serious response to my question. Kevinbomb, this is an error coin that happened at the mint. Mutilated coins occur in circulation. MM2

 

[SilverForBrains]

That's a great coin, no idea how much it's worth but definitely an intense error. IF it was a die crack wouldn't the line through the coin be raised with respect to the rest of the coin? I think the indented line goes in line with what the other guys are saying, if that was a deeper pocket of the poor metal mix that peeled off with the rest of the lamination

 

[mountainman 2]

That's a great coin, no idea how much it's worth but definitely an intense error. IF it was a die crack wouldn't the line through the coin be raised with respect to the rest of the coin? I think the indented line goes in line with what the other guys are saying, if that was a deeper pocket of the poor metal mix that peeled off with the rest of the lamination

Thanks SilverforBrains. The crack is raised above the rest of the coins surface quite a bit. If i put a drop indicator on it, it would probably be at least .015(1/64th of an inch) above the rest of the coins surface. Sorry about the poor picture quality. It might appear to be recessed into the coins surface but is actually well above it.

 

[Jeffro]

I posted this in another forum as well. I was told that it was a struck through late stage die cap affixed to a split die. When I asked for further explanation, this is what i was told.

A die cap is what forms when a coin sticks to a die and then strikes a succession of planchets. The cap expands outward and upward, forming a wall that curls up toward the neck of the hammer (in this case, obverse) die. The bottom of the cap gets progressively thinner, allowing more and more of the design to bleed through.

A split die is an overgrown die crack that extends deep into the die neck, allowing the sides of the crack to spread apart.

Thanks Jeffro for taking the time to post on it. I was glad to see a serious response to my question. Kevinbomb, this is an error coin that happened at the mint. Mutilated coins occur in circulation. MM2

That would explain the condition of the coin as well.

If your's is thinner, the lamination makes more sense. If your's is the right thickness, struck through makes more sense. Either would produce a coin that looks like this. However with the crack it is most likely struck through.