Hey everyone, I'm a relative newbie when it comes to error coins, most I can dismiss from being mint errors, but I found this 1970 cent while CRHing and I can't tell whether its an error or just PMD so I figured I'd consult the big guns... Looks like it got a bite taken out of it from 8 to 9 o'clock on the obv and 9 to 10 on the rev
Well I'm *far* from a "big gun", but if it is a true "clipped planchet", then the coin should display the "Blakesley effect" on the edge directly opposite the area in question. There should be a "weakening" of the design. "To rim a blank, the blank is fed into the upset mill which contains a specially shaped groove. Placing pressure on both sides of the coin pushes and raises the rims – the same idea is used to 'spoon' a coin. However, on an incomplete planchet, the coin is not round. Pressure cannot be properly applied at the missing area – which means the rim directly opposite is also not formed properly. This is known as the 'Blakesley Effect,' named after the numismatist who first studied the phenomenon. After upsetting, the planchet travels to the coining room and is struck." Good thread Also Ken Potter has a good write-up on it. Based on the location, and on the fact that it isn't a very large "clip", there doesn't seem to be much detail on the opposite side of the coin. *Maybe* the "ST" of "TRUST" on the obverse?
Thanks dougmeister. I'll take a closer look at the opposite edge when I get the chance. I've seen other similar coins but the missing portions have telltale signs of corrosion, this one's devoid of any signs of post mint wear on the '3rd side'.
Thanks for the articles, stuffed some new knowledge into my brain and pushed some old stuff out. In hand I don't really see any effect on the opposite edge, except maybe a little bit in the T on the obv.
This is a legitimate clipped planchet. The Blakesley effect doesn't always show, and its absence isn't conclusive.
I'm not so sure! The part of the rim just above the "T" on the reverse appears to have been pushed into the field. Since the rim is formed in the upsetting mill and finished in the coining chamber, how can you account for this when the planchet is cut from the strip before either of these stages? I believe it is PMD. Chris
Incidental rim damage that happened later is what it looks like to me. I've never seen a fake clip offer rims that fade towards the clip like this one.
Thanks for the pic . Yes , your coin was struck on an incomplete planchet. A legitimate "clip". Congrats!
Thanks Stoneman! What is it that you look for on the edge to verify it is indeed a mint error? I'm just curious, for future reference
When blanks are cut from sheet stock there are two "punches" , one on each sideof the sheet that meet in the center. This way of cutting the blank will leave a ridge of metal in the center of the blank that disappears in the upsetting mill when the blank becomes a planchet. This type of incomplete planchet error will retain that ridge of metal. Your coin showes this ridge.
@Mad Stax I agree with the analysis. I think this was mentioned before but the smaller the coin and the smaller the clip on a Cent and Dime, the less of the Blakesley Effect to occur.