What type of Obverse Error is this American Silver Eagle?

Hey all,

New to the site and coins in general. Recently acquired a small collection from my Godfather's estate. I came across an interesting Silver Eagle.

It's appears to be a 1989. At first glace I thought it had to be a really nice high grade (looked Mint to my amateur eyes) uncirculcated coin, but upon closer examination I found that the date was partially missing. Upon an even closer look it appears that the lower part of the sandal is also missing as well as most of the lower edge of the coin is just generally off.

Again, the coin relatively looks to be a high grade uncirculated coin, and it doesn't look like wear, but a minting error (but again I'm clueless to most of this stuff).

So I was wondering, what type of error is this. Would this be considered a clad error? It almost looks as if when being pressed, they might have pressed to hard. I've included two photos, one using a diffused lighting filter, the other with flash. I've been placing all the coins up for auction lately on eBay, but with the time going down I'm hoping I didn't make an mistake by not getting this graded. After posting the coin up, I started looking for more information about the type of error and wasn't finding much, so now I'm mildly concerned that I might have made a mistake by listing this as an ungraded. I might cancel the listing, and get it graded if it's worth the effort if it's rare or worth the added time and headache.

Any info would be helpful.

With Flash.



With Diffused Lighting Filter.



Regards,

David H.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

I can't be 100% positive, but it looks like it could be the result of a grease-filled die.

Chris

 

looks struck through grease to me, not sure that would carry any premium on an ASE but I'm sure others will chime in with better answers.

 

Thanks all! Any info is helpful. Greese filled die is a better explaination that I've been able to find with my amateur status. Ha. I'll tell you what though, the past week of researching these things and learning the speak has sort of got me feeling the coin bug. ha I'm looking at my pocket change differently

 

Just wanted to upload a comparison shot (with another 89 that was in the estate). Both coins are basically in the same condition (they were in plastic coin sleeve holders) minus the strike-thru issues on the error 89.

Would grease also cause what looks like a buckling of sorts below "Trust." It also looks as if the Grease impacted the S and T a bit as well (not to mention the sandals (one is missing detail, the other missing the bottom).

 

definetely grease filled die, I would keep it and then submit to ngc.

 

It is not worth submitting for authentication. NGC would probably return it saying that it was too minor to authenticate.

Chris

 

Thanks again everyone.

Do they usually send back Grease/ Strike Thru errors for being too minor (for future reference)? What grease on die/ strike thru would pass as something worth authenticating (I'm guessing half the coin would have to be missing?)

The whole grease/ strike through thing (Errors in general) is fascinating to me. I read a stat on Silver Eagle errors saying, "It is estimated that only .000003 of error coins ever make their way into circulation," so it's fun when something like this pops up. I'll let the auction stand then (good amount of watchers, few days to go, with a bit higher then spot is fine with me). If the winner wants to try to certify it, by all means.

I was surprised to see it though on such an otherwise shiny mint looking-ish coin, and in the very least it perked my interest with coin collecting/ error searching for sure (something my God Father would probably be happy to hear).

 

That can't really happen. It's just hardened grease that fills in the devices, so only raised parts would be missing.

 

Can we get the link?

 

I might be wrong but it may be against the Forum's T&C to direct link in this catagory. If I get enough posts before my auctions end I'll post them to the Auction section. My user name on eBay is 8poundstar (if posting that is against the rules, moderators please remove ).

 

Ah makes sense. So then a grease strike wouldn't be considered an certifiable error? Again just learning a bunch here. So please forgive my naivety.

I guess my question is then, what about the portion under and to the right of the "Trust." Technically it's not a raised area right? So why would there be what appears to be a noticeable dip in the flatness of the coin? Would that be a case of it being a die clash error or just more grease?

 

I can't speak to the area by "Trust," as I can't really tell what's going on there.
Struck through Grease/Debris, and grease-filled die "errors" are common. Maybe not as common on an ASE, but nevertheless, still not really worth worrying about.

Varieties are more desirable, and are more worth sending in to a TPG than one-off errors, unless it's a particular type that is desirable (like off center strikes).

 

Thank you so much for the added info. I'm starting to understand what drives this hobby, and I'm liking it. I wish I had a Macro setting on my camera, so I could capture the area around trust with a higher quality. Just seems "off" when compared with the only 89 I have in front of me.

 

A good macro camera and a good set up are necessary for taking coin photos. There are some tutorials here on CT.

 

Thanks. I won't be bidding but ill be watching. That's a very cool looking Eagle!

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'm using a Canon t3 (just missing a Macro lens from my set up, never thought I'd needed one. All things considered I think I did alright with the photos even without a dedicated Macro lens (I used my 55-250mm lens), but they could be a little bit sharper on the zoom in view. When I originally took the "89 Error" photos I had to focus the coin off center to a corner (then crop, so there was so noticeable detail lose on the zoom in) due to dust particle being almost below dead center on my photos. Had to clean the sensor to get rid of it, so I might take another photo or 2 tomorrow (try something holding a magnifying glass over it as well, whatever might help). Took a few more pictures for my other auctions (with flash, since that might others judge condition, and they are more detailed when zoomed in).

I know for sure one of my next investments will be macro lens and a usb microscope.

Thanks! The more watchers the merrier.

 

Congrats on the sale! Did you run a 3 day auction?

 

Thanks BigTee44. It was a 7 day auction. I've since shipped it out. All things considered, I think it did well for what it turned out to be (grease strick-through, not a major error). In retrospect, I sort of wish I didn't put it up and keep it (as a conversation piece).

 

I would have. Not going to see another one like that! Part of collecting though.