Mangled by the Mint

I have several wheat pennies (I just started my collection and I am just trying to educate myself on all of this, and am having so much fun!) that have been mangled by the mint. They look like the original mangling, as the colors in the deep groves are the same color as the coin. I have one I call Frankenstein, as among his other attribute he is missing a piece of his skull, and I have one I just found I named Scarface because Mr. Lincoln's face has huge gouges out of it, in his cheek and his nose. These look to be original mangling. Some of these pennies have errors on both sides of the coins, reverse errors, letter errors, etc., things of that nature.

I was just wondering if there was any value in a mangled coin by the mint, or is it just considered a damaged coin? Thanks for any responses! I have been trying to find this type of error in my research and the only phrase that really matches is "damaged" beyond belief .

 

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I don't really think there is any definitive way that can prove that the coins were damaged after the strike, but before they left the mint. You would need to post photos of the coins in order for us to make an accurate assessment.

 

Do you have pictures? If you are finding these in circulation then they are most likely PMD(Post mint damage).

 

Thanks! I have children around somewhere that have that type of technology ... I will see if I can get them to help me with that (or at least give me back my cable )

Don't hold your breath it will happen anytime today, but maybe in the next day or so.... thanks for asking!

 

I was thinking they might be waffled, but the mint didn't start doing that until the early 2000s.

 

In all likelihood, they are probably PMD, and if you got them from circulation, it would be impossible to determine when the damage occurred. As stated, photos would help.

As for naming one of the coins "Scarface", you might want to give it another name. The 1888-O Morgan VAM-1B was given that name decades ago. Also, be aware that you should try to avoid names (like Frankenstein) that may be protected by copyright laws.

Chris

 

Got to love vam morgans... I don't have that particular one yet

 

Wow, I had no idea those names were already taken

Here's the best I can do with the technology I have at hand, and unfortunately there isn't enough clarity to see it.

 

these coins are no mint errors and only worth a cent or maybe a couple cents each for the copper value. they all are horribly damaged from many years of use.

 

Why on earth would you think this is a mint error?

 

That is just a mangled cent...there is no event during the minting process that could result in the coin you see.

 

Thanks for responding. Yes, that was exactly my question. I am very new to penny collecting, and this coin seemed to have damage that was the same color of the copper as say, one from the same year and there is of course damage that is newer, so the newer damage obviously wasn't from the mint, but the older damage looked to be original. So I guess my question is, could some of this have happened originally, because the way the damage that looks original is, it looks to me like so: if you have an oil painting and the paint was not dry and someone came along before it was dry and took the paintbrush and smeared some of the painting with the brush. I didn't know that could happen to a coin, or how it could happen, so I was wondering if it happened at the mint because some of the damage looks to be the same color as the original color of the coin - and I was wondering how that could have happened if it wasn't original.

So it helps to know that it couldn't have happened at the mint. I couldn't seem to find any clear information on this type of damage! So thanks for clearing it up for me

 

Looks like it spent some time under a truck tire.....


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The coin looks like it was minted in 1966 although the image is blurry. If the damage happened early in the life of the coin and it continued to circulate, the coin would have had over forty years to tone(oxidize) and become consistent in its color. You can't separate the damage as to when it happened over the years when a coin has been in circulation that long.

In any case, there is no damage that occurred at the Mint that accounts for the look of your coin. The driven over on a parking lot scenario is pretty plausible.

 

Thanks for all your input. Well, Frankenstein may not be valuable, but he is unusual.

 

Just to throw some mud in the room (for the lurkers),

PMD or as its typically referred to Post Mint Damage can also be Post "Minting" Damage meaning, any damage which occurs after the coin has been minted. Even if its in the possession of the US Mint or its facilities, any damage imparted to the coin should be considered Post Minting Damage and offer no (as in zero) additional premium. Face Value would equal Max Value.

 

I have gone back and looked at this coin after all the helpful advise, and yes I would agree he probably spent some time under someone's tire, or may tires - parking lot scenario - plus I can't resist picking up pennies out of a parking lot, and maybe I am not the only one... I got him from a bulk lot off of Ebay - but I love looking at all of the damage and trying to imagine how it could have happened that way. It is still my favorite coin, so far as I am trying to learn about error coins. I know he doesn't count as an error coin, but this boy has more errors than ... say... Frankenstein?

Some day, when I get a system set up so I can take better pictures of my coins, I will repost him and you can see all of his mangled magnificence. I think I am getting the bug

 

Might I suggest that instead of spending time imagining how the damage was done that you spend your time learning about the minting process?

Just a thought.

 

If the pictures were clearer, I might be able to tell if it was a die cap error

 

I have an example if you want to see it. Also , if you are interested in learning a lot about the different types of errors out there, there is a book called "Strike it Rich With Pocket Change". It is written by Ken Potter and Brian Allen. I found it very useful when examining coins for varieties and errors.