1964 Kennedy Half - Mint Error (clip) or PMD?

Hey everyone,

Picked this half up yesterday at the LCS with a couple other nice varieties. It looks to me like it was almost a clip error that split open the planchet...but I thought I'd throw it out here and get some more experienced mint error specialists' opinions.

What do you think? Mint error, or someone's post-mint after school project?

 

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Defective blank or planchet?

Chris

 

Definitely looks defective to me, but I am certainly no expert.

 

Well there is evidence of Blakesley effect or at least, appearance of such. If I were to have the choice between clipped or end of the sheet, I would lean more towards the end.

 

Here's a closeup of the obverse affected area. Note how the rim has started to peel away to the right of the clipped area, and there is a lamination crack just under and to the right of that (top right corner of the B.)

 

Absolutely a planchet defect or a "clip" as we call them.

 

Blakesley effect? in english please.

 

"The Blakesley effect occurs on most genuine clipped planchet error coins and is characterised by weakness in the rim opposite the clipped end of the coin."

Reference

 

Interesting, thanks.

 

0

In layman's terms. If the blank is clipped, when it is ran through the upsetting mill, it lacks enough metal in the clipped section to adequately provide pressure against the opposite side to raise the edge in preparation for striking the rim.

 

If that's layman's, I'd hate to have to read it in technical terms. LOL

 

Well you do have to have a little knowledge about the coining process and what the upsetting mill does. I figured you knew that part.

 

Very little...LOL
I do know what a hammer and anvil die, hubbing and actually what happens when pressure is put on the planchet. The upsetting mill raises the rim, correct?

 

When a blank is punched out of a sheet, it is larger in diameter than a struck coin. The blank is ran through an upsetting mill which not only reduces the diameter but also pushes metal up around the edge so that there is sufficient material in that area to form the rim when struck. Before being ran through the upsetting mill, it is called a blank, after it leaves the mill, it is called a planchet.

The upsetting mill pushes against the edge of the blank and squeezes it, kinda like pushing pizza dough around the edge to form a pizza crust. If there is a clip, there isn't enough resistance on the opposite side of that area to push agaist, so it won't raise the edge on the opposite side. If it isn't raised, there won't be enough material there to properly form the rim.

 

Good info...thanks for that.

 

Interesting the reeding is there, I wonder if there was an air pocket in the metal in that area and the force of striking compressed it and released it.

 

I'm kind of thinking the same thing. Maybe we should call this the "bubble wrap" coin...lol

 

Is it still true that more pressure is used to strike half dollars then on dollars?

 

It's a manufacturing defect. Send it back to the U.S. Mint and insist on your money back.

 

I don't want to crash their website...