1978 Error Penny. Anyone know if this coin has any value?

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The photos are too blurry to tell.

Chris

 

this is about as good as my phone can do. Hope it's ok.



It almost looks like the Memorial is ready to collapse! I took it to a local dealer who said he was not an expert on error coins but he'd never seen anything like it.

 

Probably tooled by a prisoner...

 

I think Abe means that it was done by someone with a lot of time on their hands...

 

Definitely the work of someone with nothing better to do.

 

Home-made. PMD.

 

Anyway, the bottom line: you have a damaged coin with no numismatic value. However, as a novelty, someone would probably pay a premium. Remember, "hobo" nickels are damaged goods also, but some can get rather pricey. Your cent might even sell for a dollar or two on eBay.

 

So it would have some value if it were certified authentic? Looking at it in person I think it's a true error. Probably just wishful thinking, but I like thinking about the what if's!

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no respected slobber would certify a tooled coin like that. I don't even know what you would authenticate it as. It's a nifty piece, and some sucker may shell out a dollar or two for it, but it's not an error. That's impossible.

 

Sure....go ahead and spend the fifty or sixty bucks to be told exactly what you've been told here. It's your money.

Here on Coin Talk you get free advice from some of the top experts and collectors in the world but if that's not good enough and you feel like throwing away you hard earned cash, go for it.

 

Geez sorry guys. Maybe I should have prefaced this post by saying I'm brand new to coin collecting and truly clueless when it comes to error coins. About a month ago I started searching rolls hoping I might stumble upon a double die. This one grabbed my eye and I guess I got to excited. I did not mean I would be willing to pay someone money to look at it. I just meant take it to a coin show or something and have an error dealer see it in person. Did not intend to come across offensive. Thank you all for the advice.

Kyle

 

Slobber, LOL.

 

I don't think any offense was intended by you or those that responded. Sometimes we get a bit jaded because we see questions like yours over and over and over here on Coin Talk, sometimes several times a week. Often the poster will not like hearing their coin is not a super valuable error coin and they will argue with the responders here who are trying to help the person.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and keep looking.

 

Looks like the Memorial's about to collapse! Everyone, run for your lives!

(Sorry if someone has already made a similar comment... There are so many lengthy ones.)

-Brian

 

Kyle3737,
First of all, WELCOME to CT! Also, it is very often a newbie to error collecting that thinks they've hit the mother lode when they first start, because you are finally noticing the strange things that coins have. And not knowing that so much PMD (post mint damage, or what happens to coins by people and objects after the coin has left the mint) can occur and in weird ways, allows for newbies to think that what they've found MUST be an error.

Sad to say, but we all have to burst your bubble. It will take a long time for you to be able to easily recognise what is and what isn't an error. But keep trying, it will come. CT helps, 'cause there are a lot of real experts that chime in.

But there is always the chance that a newbie will find a real error, so don't feel bad, and you can always keep asking.

 

i give you 1/3 cent for it???

 

You're just trying to take advantage of the Newbie . A better offer would be 5 cents, but he has to pay postage :devil:.

 

Sorry, autocorrect

 

Sorry Kyle for sounding off a bit harshly. It's as Hobo said, we see a lot of coins that are not errors but the poster doesn't want to hear that his coin is not the holy grail. The manufacturing of coins can produce errors that could be valuable but they are easily identified as being from coin production. Once you learn the way coins are made then you'll be able to look at a coin and determine if it's a true error or not.

A lot coins on some of the auction sites are being promoted as errors to take advantage of collectors who are unaware of what a real error is.

Here are a few reference sites to guide you along:

http://minterrornews.com/

http://doubleddie.com/

http://koinpro.tripod.com/