I go through a lot of change at work and there's two things I have noticed. 1) Every third or fourth dime is a broadstrike/slightly off center. 2) Most 1991/1992 cents I see that are in decent condition have die scratches on them. A lot of die scratches (luckily I love the look of die scratches). 3) Most 80's cents have that "second rim" apperance that comes from die deterioration. Any ideas why these things are? Especially #1. Thanks, Tyler
I think you are confusing something else for a broadstrike. A broadstrike occurs when a coin is struck without a collar and is not common at all, nowhere near 25% to 33% of all coins struck.
I know what you mean about the dimes. Im not sure what the term is but there nearly always off center a smidge
I know what you mean with that. I keep the more dramatically off centered ones. Strange how this is only so common in dimes...
The die sratched cents are particularly elusive as a subset. Finding gem bu is a real treat for me too. 91 and 92 were great die scratch years in certain sections of the country. The die bags in that area were most from a select group of wonderfully reworked dies. They may pay a premium later on. Post some pics.
I agree with Hobo, a broadstrike isn't common at all. But being slightly off center is extremely common. And not just with dimes, it's extremely common with all denominations. Thing is, most folks seldom notice it. But if you take the time to look closely at the rim of almost any coin, more times than not you'll see that the rim is slightly larger on one side, and thinner on the other. A coin being well centered is even a grading criteria, it should be the very first thing you look at when grading a coin. Unfortunately, I would estimate that there are only a handful of people left who even do that ! To a large degree, I attribute that to the TPGs because they completely ignore it. It is only one of the many ways that TPGs have changed the grading process used today.
I've noticed it on cents some but not as much. The ones I notice most are the ones that don't have a rim on one side. I find a few of those per roll usually (especially if they are customer-rolled for some reason). I was just using broadstrike as a term to describe. I've only found a couple minor broadstruck dimes and one quarter. And yeah, I still look to see whether its centered or not before I buy it. It usually isn't a deal breaker for me, but I want it to not be distracting.
