Hello again and thanks for everyone's help, I have learned a lot. Today I have a 1940 (?) penny that was inside a protector and I cannot make out what the heck happened to the date. It looks like the penny is from 1940 but, there is a shadow, or an imprint, of what looks like the top of and 8 just above the 0. Also, I noticed if you hold it a certain way there looks to be a letter D, maybe a mint mark, in the bottom part of the 0, around the 5 pm position. It is really hard to see and maybe my eyes are just tired and playing tricks on me. Anyway, I would appreciate any and all help you would provide to me, I don't want to put this coin in with the other general population coins if there is something special or unique about it. Have a great week. Art
@Art Monroe Hmm? Let's try to use a little logic and figure this out. A blank doesn't become a planchet until it goes through the upsetting mill. A planchet doesn't become a coin until it goes through the coining chamber. So, somewhere between the upsetting mill and the coining chamber, you're claiming that the planchet was reused. Am I missing anything? Chris
Hi, Sorry, I did not mean to imply anything, it just looks like an 8 to me. It looks to even have a distinctive center to it just like an 8 does. I do not see how this could be a stain but, I also cannot see how two different numbers could be imprinted on the same coin. Maybe it was stuck obverse to obverse for years and something transferred to the coin in question, I just do not know. I had no idea so I thought I would talk to the professionals and see what you think. I know very little, if anything about how coins are struck, minted and so forth. I do apologize if it sounded like I was accusing the mint, or anyone of anything. I was simply curious.
It is possible that your coin had a carbon spot that was clean off many years ago. All that is left is a permanent stain that will never go away. Notice the spot in the middle of the circle. The reason why well learned collector shy away from coins with visible carbon spots.
If the 8 was that high up it would be rotated because it would not be aligned. Then you would also see signs of the rest of the date because that too would be off center.
In the instance of an O/S the coin must show some mis alignment on both the obv and rev. This is not the case with a doubled die obverse. http://www.error-ref.com/part-ii-die-varieties/
My apology to you, Art. I wasn't trying to ridicule you. I was just trying to encourage you to think about how it could have happened during the minting process. We get a lot of new collectors coming here (often from BoobTube) who are looking for errors without taking the time to learn about the minting process, first. (NOTE: I call it BoobTube because of the idiots who post their videos there, not because of the people who watch/read them. "Maybe it was stuck obverse to obverse for years and something transferred to the coin in question...." So, let's consider this comment you made. One of the reasons that the Mint creates a rim on most of our circulating coinage is to minimize wear and tear on the devices and allow the coins to remain in circulation for as long as possible. Keeping this in mind, it is practically impossible for the devices of one coin to come into contact with the fields of another coin. Knowledge is power. A little knowledge can be dangerous. Keep on truckin! Chris
O/S - Is that for over stamping where in this case the OP believes it could be a case of a O over an 8, not implying that is what I think it would be. I was just implying I thought if it was an over stamp that it is not aligned correctly and I think more than just that would be misaligned. But I am still new and learning. Also, that is a good site. Lots of information and a reference I have looked thru in the past. Thank you.
