Tonight I was sorting a boring old fruitcake can of mixed pennies (so far 1919 - 1995) I had acquired when I noticed these two specimens. I have no idea if they are common, or if they are worth more than a penny extra, but I will present them here for view. The offset is minor on both but quickly noticeable. One is best described as having a rim thicker and further away from the lettering on one side, but a very thin rim with the word Trust being right at the coins edge. On the other coin, I am not quite sure how best to describe it. There is a ripple near the rim on the date side of the penny, almost like the beginning of a second rim. This ripple begins near the T in Trust and runs to the bottom of Lincoln. There is some thinning of the rim near the ripple but not to the extent of the first coin. {The first penny also exhibits such a ripple. On that coin the ripple begins somewhere between We and Trust and runs down to the bottom of Lincoln.} I would presume these would be caused by a misaligned planchet but I have no idea how many other pennies came out with similar or worse defects that day in 1987. I don't normally see errors discernible to the naked eye and haven't handled an offset in forty years (t'was a nickel with about a 30% offset so part of that nickel was blank). Was this a common error for that year?
I think I see where your seeing 'offset', your term, its only on one side if the cent---check out the site I was sent to by a member, error-ref.com---tons of pics and good info..hope this helps
Thank you. I am there browsing now. Hmm, Lots of categories. This will not be a 2 minute read. Question remains. Bag and keep it, or spend or Coinstar it?
ziggy9 got it right in post#2 this is from a worn die and is common in the copper plated cents after 1982
