So I found a 1964 Half with this error and started looking into clipped coins. I notice it's not quite a normal clip and began reading to find the term "assay clip" and what they were. I can't find any pictures with quick googling, so I went to HA site and found the coin in the 3rd picture to be the only one on record. Looks identical, but would it fit into this category?
I found that as well, but the one I found from heritage isn't quite as dramatic to be the "pizza slice". I've found other coins labeled as a Ragged Clip that are similar, but are they possibly assay clips too? Seems odd that it fits definition of assay over the more...in line ragged clip theory
Doubtful of PMD considering the strike shows the same weakness around the area as the other legitimate errors found in pictures showing slight weakness to surrounding devices or the planchet itself. It's clearly either a ragged clip or an assay clip that happened to the planchet before the strike I would think.
I get that the picture is saying one thing but can't see that if it HAD to look like that nickel, why the Hong Kong coin labeled Assay Clip would be so different and still fall in the category. More or less..the coin is missing a piece of it's planchet so the mint could test the metallic composition, correct? It doesn't necessarily have to be a triangular shape or PCGS would have never labeled that 1978 coin an Assay Clip.
I don't know whether to agree with the PCGS assessment or not. Perhaps @Fred Weinberg could give us some insight on this. Chris
PCGS can label their coins anything they want. I'm not anti-PCGS, but you have to keep in mind that the NGC Registry stopped accepting foreign coins certified by PCGS because their authentications were too erratic. Chris
Doesn't look like an assay clip, comes closer to being a ragged clip, but frankly I think it is just a flawed planchet (as made) and not a clip of any kind. Some times when the strip is rolled it is too brittle and splits or cracks can appear at the edges. This planchet was punched from an area that had one of these cracks protruding into it. Not a clip, or a split planchet, a cracked planchet.
