While documenting some coins, I took a closer look at this pair of 2015 Canadian 15 Dollar "Canada/USA First Special Force" commemorative 1/10 oz gold coins, and was surprised at what I found. These had a mintage of 20,000 commemorating the "Devil's Brigade" of WWII. They are still in their protective plastic film from the RCM. At the top of the obverse of one coin is a rim cud, with the reverse showing a lot of flow lines and cracks. The other coin shows what appears to be catastrophic die failure or a shattered die state, with rim-to-rim cracks, heavy flow lines, and cracking all over the reverse, and a few hairline cracks on the obverse. I'm thinking this may be a good candidate for certification, perhaps even as a die progression set or a shattered die discovery pair, with request for a pedigree. Knowing the RCM is a little fussy about their dies and QC on their gold and silver commemorative series, and with a mintage of 20,000, I think it might be a significant rarity. I'd appreciate it if you guys could take a look and let me know what you think. I'd like opinions on an approximate possible value, and where you would go with a pair like this to find the right collector, if you wanted to sell it. Thanks! First is Coin 1:
I'm wondering if the stuff you are seeing are just issues on the protective film? Maybe some new pictures out of the protective film.
I've definitely given that some thought. There are places where I think the cracks may have affected the lay of the film. But the cracks just look like cracks, and the cud is a cud. Take a look at the crack in the star and the arrowhead in #6. The only way it's coming out of that film is by PCGS or NGC.
