Mint Mark Error Question

Looking at coins like the 1938 D over S Buffalo Nickel, how is it possible for a coin to have this kind of error? All coins stuck in Philadelphia have no mark or P, Denver D,San Fransico S,New Orleans O, Carson City CC, etc. So how can a coin minted in one place have that mint mark and the mint mark of a mint on the other side of the country? Does a mint use another mint's dies and the mint marks overlap?

Thanks.

 

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Good question. For now all I know is that it is known as a OMM - Over Mint Mark

 

You do know that at the US mint back in the day...drinking alcohol on the job was a norm not an exception

 

"Over the years mint mark varieties have been found where mint marks for two different mints were applied to the same working die. For example, in 1944 two different Lincoln cent working dies first received an impression from an S mint mark punch, and then had a D mint mark punched over the S creating two different "D over S" or "D/S" mint mark varieties. In 1946 a Lincoln cent working die first received an impression of a D mint mark and then had an S mint mark punched directly over the D creating an "S over D" or "S/D" mint mark variety. Varieties such as these are known as Over Mint Mark (OMM) varieties." ...John Wexler

 

I believe (and correct me if I'm mistaken) all of the dies came from Philadelphia, and were sent to the branch mints.

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It is decided that a die originally intended for one branch mint is to be used at another, and the original mint mark is more or less polished out, and the second MM punched over top of it. On occasion, this is an unused/lightly used die from the previous year being pressed into service the next year. It's not uncommon.

 

Want your mind blown... Now many D, S, O or CC over P varieties are out there that we just don't know about

 

1992 D Lincoln penny what is this?

 

It's called split plate doubling

 

Never heard of it, is it a common error.

 

Never heard of it, is it a common error.

 

I'm new to coin collecting

 

yes common

 

exactly, if not needed in one mint, apparently, then used in another.

There were no 1938 S Buff's minted, so, why waste a good die.

 

Exactly, same thing happened in 1955. Philadelphia still had several S mint dies on hand and San Francisco wasn't scheduled to strike nickels that year and was being closed down. So there wouldn't be an S mint nickels in the future. So they punched D's over the S's and shipped them to Denver.