I am not sure how these things find me. I’m surely not complaining. Here is the latest oddity that has come my way. It is a Post Mint Damaged coin that someone put a bit of forethought into. This 1881 Indian Head Cent has not only been flattened by a train, but it has also been done in combination with a common pin that was bent into a “V”. The coin itself shows some honest wear yet the word liberty on the headband says that the wear was minimal. At least the RTY does. It is impossible to say how long ago this was done but knowing it has been a while due to seeing a bit of accumulated dirt and toning inside the crevasse left by the pin. The last three numbers of the date are prominent enough to discern. It takes a few seconds of looking closely to see them. The first 1 is not very noticeable but does not have to be with the 1881 date. Here is a photo that shows a lamination line traversing the reverse on this coin. This photo shows the tapered edge where it was struck and thinned by the train wheel. And a few others for interest. Thanks for looking.
I’m taking a wild guess that it has about 30 years of wear before being put on the tracks, that would be around 1911…very odd creature…but very enjoyable, thanks for sharing…imo…Spark
That’s not flattened by a train. It’s the best looking mint error struck through coin I’ve ever seen. It’s not only a strike through but it’s one that you can determine what object the strike through occurred with. Great find! Edited to correct spelling.
Doesn't look like 30 years of wear, but who's to say how long it was in someone's piggy bank. Perhaps 1890's or so. Why one would do that is pure speculation and imagination, but in that period the railroads were still marveled at as the latest thing. Perhaps it is a kind of self-made commemorative souvenir of a newly opened rail line, with the pin representing the "golden spike" for that particular line.
Sad thing is that I follow a few Facebook pages dedicated to mint errors with a bunch of newbies claiming that items such as in this thread are actual errors. I do my best to explain what PMD is and many of them tell me that I'm wrong and to get a life. They are really hard headed morons spreading misinformation.
Yes it’s a shame and we get our share of them on CT. If anyone takes my comment about that being a mint error seriously they need some help and a new hobby. Lol
Our family lived in Brooklyn but summered in Sag Harbor (Long Island). My father would visit on Friday nights via the Cannonball Express out of Manhattan and return on Sunday night. My mother and I would meet the train and I would always put pennies (cents) on the tracks. I am sure many were Indian Head, but back then no one noticed, it was just a penny! I only found about half of them after the train left, and the rest were lost to many moves over the years. But I have the memory!
The Dunning Kruger effect is strong in this hobby. That's a really cool coin even if it's damaged and "worthless". Still has some neat history to it. The coin on the train tack thing I get, we used to do it as kids but the bent nail has me a bit baffled. Interesting to say the least.
Kids do the craziest things with coins and trains. After watching Opie Taylor with his "lucky penny that got run over by a train" episode, we all headed out to the railroad tracks to make our own "good luck pennies run over by a train" charms.
