Are there a lot of collectors of world error coins? Are there references devoted to it?

In the past I have run across a website or two that deal with it, but no I have no idea what they were or even if they still exist. As for books, there probably are some specialized references written in subject matter languages, but again I have no idea what they may be. That's for errors.

For varieties however, I do happen to know of one book in particular that covers them very, very well for Netherlands gold ducats, better than any book ever has. But that's mainly because I helped write it




In effect it is a VAM reference for those coins, but only those.

 

It is hard enough getting a comprehensive reference of the myriad world coin issues together without going even deeper into one-of-a-kind errors. Such reference works might be possible for smaller, specialized niches, but would be impossible on any kind of larger scale.

US collectors, particularly those into errors and die varieties, are definitely more into minutiae. World collectors have so much more forest to roam without as much focus on the trees (let alone the types of bark and leaves on the trees, etc.)

This doesn't mean World errors aren't appealing to collect.

I sold this one in 1994 and bought it back at nearly 5x the price when I accidentally stumbled across it again in cyberspace in 2016.

 

First of all, I am NOT trying to start up the age old argument, but I would call that variety, not an error.

As mentioned near the top on the site linked by paddyman - http://www.coinsgb.com/Error_Coins/Error_coins.html

Blank planchets, clipped, brockages, die caps, etc etc - those are errors, or at least what I would call errors. But that double or triple (whatever it is) punching of that letter on your coin - that's what I'd call a variety.

Not that it matters really what you call it, but I think it is an interesting distinction how people use their own definitions for words when they describe something. Here's why. In the book that I mentioned above, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of varieties listed, but they are all similar, in nature anyway, to what your coin has on it.

So if you call them errors, and I call them varieties, and you were looking for a book on errors for those coins - you'd completely miss that book as a reference - because I call them varieties. And the whole time that book would have exactly what you were looking for !

So do ya see my point ?