Now that I have had time to go through some of the thousands of coins I have stashed overthe last few years, I have accumulated a nice pile of MAD's. The majority on the obverse (as expected, I assume), some on the reverse and some on both sides. And, of course, some are MADder than others. On one hand, you hear they are common and command no premium. On the other hand, you hear they are a mint error and are at least worth more than face value. Also, I read somewhere that MAD's on the reverse are a little less common because it is the anvil die. So, what do you do with them? Do you keep them in their own little collection? Or, do you recycle them at face value and try to get something else? Since I have seen some slabbed, it leads me to believe I should hold on to them.
I personally hold onto the nice, strong examples. I also see stronger examples selling for a very modest premium above face value as there are people out there that collect just about anything you can think of. Strike doubling is common, but vary in degree and I've personally found that strong examples aren't easily found. Edit: I should be a more attentive reader. I just realized the op was talking about mAd, and not MD. Disregard the above. As for MAD, if it cuts into the devices I've seen it sell for modest premiums.
It is a misaligned die. It looks off center but usually only one side of the coin. Sometimes both sides are misaligned but very different from an off-center strike. The majority I have found has been with Roosevelts. Maybe I will try and put together a collection of every year/mintmark.
The minor ones, yes just spend them. If they start missing lettering or detail on the misaligned side... they can have a premium.
The most "extreme" I have found so far are like double-rimmed one side, right at the edge of the lettering on the other. No missing inscriptions or devices, but I thought they looked kinda cool anyway. What about the reverse being less common, is that true?
Man, when I first saw this thread, I thought I'd stumbled into the comics forum... Anyhow, the first true error I ever found in circulation was a misaligned Jefferson missing maybe 5% of the obverse detail. No idea what the coin would sell for (I still own it and don't even pretend to understand the value of error coins). There are certainly tons of slightly misaligned die coins out there that do not carry a premium; for example, I have a 1982-P quarter on my desk that's missing the obverse rim from 5:00 to 8:00 but little else. It's going into a vending machine as soon as I get desperate for quarters.
I heart my MAD this is not always true! I have a 5% misaligned die on a Flying Eagle Cent, and I assure you that is worth a premium. I also have one on a BU Indian cent, and that is awesome. MAD's on wheats carry a premium too, although not too much. MAD's on current dime's are common and don't carry a premium, but if it is > 5% off, keep it. MAD's on Jeffersons also seem to be common, but they become desirable when some of the detail is to the edge of the coin.
Everyone is missing one important factor with those types of errors. It all depends on if you trying to sell them or purchase one. Also, the grade, condition of them is also of some importance. By this I mean if you took the average ones and tried to sell them to a dealer at a coin show, almost all would say to just spend them. HOWEVER, if you asked the same dealer if you could purchase one, you'ld find out even the slightest of any kind of error is worth a few dollars. And in MS grades could be as much as seveal dollars regardless of the denomination. I used to many years ago attempt to save even the slightest of any type of error such as those slight offsets and eventually found no one will purchase them for not to much more than face. Yet at coin shows I've seen coins that would require a microscope to detect the error mentioned and yet they are selling to someone.
The name of the game. Nature of the beast. What you got is common. What I got is a treasure. Most of the ones I find are Roosies too. I don't save many.
MAD or off center? I got this in a roll, is it MAD or off center? The obverse seems to be more "off center" then the reverse. Is it worth keeping?
It really does look like each side is slightly off center, with the obverse being much more so than the reverse. Could be that both sides are Misaligned dies (MAD). You could probably get $5 on Ebay.
This is "one of the side effects of die varieties and errors" is you pile up a lot of stuff that's neat but has no, or little premieum. It's just the way it is. A quick story them I got to go. 15 years ago when I first got into searching for doubled dies and RPM's and such it began to dawn on me that although this stuff truly is "a die variety" (and or error) there few folks wanting the minor RPM's and doubled dies. There is thousands more of these dies than collectors of such. Arnie Margolis, "The Error Coin Encyclo.") told me this very thing once and I dismissed at the time. He was right. I bet I've searched over 10,000 BU Lincoln bank rolls, a dozen or so mint sewn bags, and another 6,000,000 circulated cents since that time. I began to pile up rolls of BU 1959 thru 1963-D RPM's all attributed and true die varieties but what was I going to do with 17 rolls of 1960-D RPM 177 (in Wexler's file) at the time??? One day while considering the 200 or so BU rolls of this stuff it dawned on me, "I've got more than all the die variety people in the world or who are out there want"! I sold them in bulk and got about .7 cents each and was glad to get that! I learned just because a coins a minor error, RPM or true doubled die does not make it worth much or even any extra money. That's when I learned it's the rare coins that bring the money and the common ones do not. The rare ones are the bigger ones in Cherry Pickers Guide that bring "the money". The reason is they have "main stream appeal"!!! They are sought by both regular and die variety collectors. Since then I have found and sold coins I paid $11 for for $2000, coins I paid $15 for for $150 and so on, hundreds and hundreds of times over. The wrong direction but not totally useless is to look at the coins first for errors and varieties then the book. This gives you learning (by looking) but it does not lead you very far in finding the real $$$$ coins or even understanding them. My best suggestion for a new person in errors and die varieties is to buy the book, buy the book, buy the book!!! Get The Error Coin Encyclopedia by Margolis, Get The Cherry Pickers Guide by Fivas/Satnton, study the books, learn the die making process and minting process, find out the coins that are not also rare but bring good money and then go search your coins. That way you have a knowledge and background established to know a coins worth and which ones deserve or warrant further investigation before having to question every single thing you find. There is only so much time in a day and I know because I have searched as many as 3000 Lincoln's a day on a thousand different days. To find good stuff your gonna need to look at a lot coins and you cannot afford to waist much time on coins that are just going to sit in a tub because they are so minor. One more thing, if your going to try and find good coins start with good coins. BU rolls, (of wheat cents or memorials), proof and mint sets are you best bet all around because condition is everything and you might as well start with good stuff because that way you have leg up when you do find something.
