I am DEAD SERIOUS about this. I have been seriously collecting U.S. coins since 1963 and I never even HEARD OF brilliantly labelled "fly speck" numismatics until the last few years by being literally INUNDATED by it here - day, after day, after excruciatingly mind-numbing day, on this very website. How did I avoid it? I guess I just got extremely ridiculously lucky. Whatever caused me to be ignorant of it, I am eternally grateful for it, whatever it was. Had I ever BEEN subjected to it in my formative years, I probably would have run for the hills, screaming in horror the entire way, running as far from numismatics as I could possibly get and for as long as possible.
I do believe there's still a couple copies around here somewhere acquired from the very type of person mentioned in my post. Unlike a few select others here, I try to avoid speaking of what I do not know. Apparently I've touched a nerve, but the book is not only a disgrace, it's not even a remotely decent beginner's reference unless some SERIOUS updating has been done. And do those who've gotten a start from this abomination outweigh those who want nothing to do with this hobby, in large part due to their oh-so-welcoming lesson that it's okay to screw the next guy? I think not. If Mr. Potter cares more about the money made off of a cheesy and very poor "reference" than he does about the greater health of this hobby, or simply not being a schmuck, all the power to him, but his choice goes hand in hand mine to call BS.
The ANCO Edition of Spadone's book was included in the Sears Coin Collector Kit that I got for Christmas in the early 70's. I read through it until the binding fell apart. I never did get into error collecting, but even with all of the inaccurate info, I still learned something about the minting process at a time when info was hard to find. (I have no idea why I still remember this. I have trouble remembering if I locked the car 2 minutes after I park)
@skootermcgavven It just looks like you have a coin that suffered environmental damage (dark toning) then it was partially cleaned with something abrasive. I don't see any evidence of a minting error
Don't feel bad. I once was halfway back to my usual train commuting "other" city before I realized that I had DRIVEN to Harrisburg that day. I ended up getting home from work at 11:30pm.
Evil takes many forms in the Internet. Would have been even funnier if "patent" had been spelled right, but you can't have everything.
It sort of reminds me of the avatar of the CT member (now, it occurs to me I haven't seen him on the boards in a while - I hope he's well) who had an avatar where he's on a motorcycle hanging off and his head is almost hitting the ground. The caption says: "Ooooo...a penny!" LoolLL (p.s. What's a YN?)
With the book in question, more like...Oooo! A tiny die chip in the "5!" YN = young numismatist. Many of whom know more about coins than much older collectors and dealers!
... or at least more convinced that they do, without so much as a scintilla of evidence, than any other generation of new collectors that has ever existed in all of human history. They all have smartphones, which apparently drain all that smartness from the crania of their youthful possessors.
V. Kurt Bellman, posted: "... or at least more convinced that they do, without so much as a scintilla of evidence,.." There you go again. Talk about convinced about something! IMO, you may have not considered the meaning of the "many of whom" YN's I refer to in my post. BTW, the proof of my statement is all over the place. I ass-umed you attended ANA Summer Seminars regularly?
Not even once, ever. It's a work needs impossibility, unless my state changes its fiscal yearend date, or I fully retire. Late June to early July is a complete non-starter for me, and may just e'er be so. Some years, even making the August convention gets some knickers all in a twist at the office, because compromise is often a dirty word here, just like in that swamp between MD and VA.