My mom, knowing the sickness I have with coins, kept back an Andrew Johnson presidential dollar when she got it in chance, and gave it to me this weekend. I was showing her the edge lettering, date, mint mark and the stars and then noticed what looks like a start *in relief* that is sitting between two of the stars that are incused along the edge...anyone ever seen this? How does this happen on the edge...does a coin with the starts incused, get in the way and get pressed into the edge of the next planchet feeding into the press, leaving a star in relief? Kinda like a clash...but not really... Then again I could just be seeing things...but it looks like a star to me...its in relief and looks to be about the same size of the stars that get punched into the edge of these coins... Pics Star is visable in the middle of the pic... Same image with a red outline trace of the anomaly
Nice. I believe a sort of clash is correct. I read recently some article concerning this very same star image... I just don't remember where or when. Sorry I will keep searching! My mom knows my sickness with coins also. She leaves any cents she gets as change on my bed every day so that I could inspect them!
Embossed Star! - I also found this description...Another type of easily confused edge lettering non-error is the raised impression of an extra letter on the edge or the surfaces which match the edge lettering font. The edge letters, being incused, or sunken in, are acting almost like coin dies, and imparting raised impressions of themselves on the edges and surfaces of other coins, due to hard bumping. Again, unless the letter is an O or other symmetrical letter, it will appear in mirror image form. These are not "dropped letters," but merely embossed letters coming from other coins. Although these types of embossings are interesting, they should also be considered damage which was caused as a result of coins bumping together. Sometimes you can even see the straight-line impression of the edge of the coin right next to the embossed letter!
Personally, I think that the term "Bumping together" is a stretch since it takes a lot more than a "bump" to get the impression of a star on the edge of the coin. Try "bumping" a couple of the edge lettered coins with a hammer. One coin onto the other.
@paddyman98 Nice find...i appreciate your help. I've been searching off and on...just hadn't found much yet. @19Lyds beat me to it though...those coins have to be smashed together in some way...not bumped. I'm not a huge error guy (and I guess these really aren't considered errors yet), the minutia of the hunt bores me to death, but I'll admit finding this without looking for it was fun. I'm gonna have to find more out on these...because the whole process of pressing the edge is someithing I've not really learned much on.
Is the edge lettering on these applied before the obverse/reverse strike or is there a segmented collar at work when striking these?
The edge is applied to the circulation strike coins AFTER the coins are struck by a method similar to how the edge of the blank is thickened to create a planchet. The coin is rolled between a roller and a roller die that contains a groove in it. At the bottom of that groove is the RAISED edge inscription for the coin. As the roller die turns the coin rotates and has the inscription pressed into the edge. If the coin doesn't go through the roller you get a plain edge dollar. If the roller isn't placed close enough to the roller die you get weak or partial edge lettering. If the coin does not roll smoothly you get unevenly spaced edge lettering, or some missing letters, or in extreme cases the coin can stick and the letters in the die going past can scoop a gouge in the edge of the coin. If the coin does not get ejected after one rotation you can get doubled or even tripped edges. If he coin get edge lettered, ejected, an then somehow gets back into the machine you can have doubled edge lettering with a wide offset between impressions, or if the coin get put in upside down the second time you can get two sets of lettering one right side up and the other inverted.
Not true, rims are struck first, then the coins are struck, here one of the cover stories, of this month error scope
Is true, that is a planchet that didn't get struck and then was sent through the edge lettering machine. If you lettered the edge first and then struck it in a plain collar it would crush and wipe out most of the lettering. (I have sever examples of other coins that were lettered first and then struck in plain collars. Most of the lettering is gone and what remains is typically quite faint.) In fact after the plain edge error Washington dollars came out the Mint modified the equipment so that after the coins were struck they were automatically carried off to the edging machines. If this story has some evidence that the order is different I'd be interested in seeing it. The Mint has also said the order is strike and then letter as well. (I admit I have not gone to the mint and watched them do it though.)
So I have a Andrew Johnson with No edge lettering and can't find a price for it anywhere, which leads me to believe maybe it's really really rare.. if anyone can find a price that'd be freaking awesome
I had to laugh about the “sickness” in the OP. That’s what my wife calls my “interest” in coins. She reluctantly turns over coins for my inspection, even though she regularly also gives me other terms besides sickness, e.g., mania, obsession, craziness, hoarding. Steve
If you actually have an Andrew Johnson dollar with no trace of the edge lettering , and which has not been altered, then it will have some value. Not sure how much but I would think somewhere between $50 and $200. The plain edge Washington's are low priced and the next few a little higher, but once the systems were put in place to take the coins directly from the press to the edge lettering machine plain edge coins become much scarcer. the problem is that when they were more common in the first year people were interested in trying to acquire one from each President. As the series progressed interest waned. Most people decided to be satisfied with just a single example of the error and the Washington's were much more available and cheaper.
we'd need to see a good clear photo of the edge of your dollar - we should be able to tell what it is from edge photos.
First of all, in the future, don't hijack 4 year old threads. Start your own topic. We need to see photos of your coin.
Christopher - I notice you're a new member and wanted to say welcome. I have made the mistake of responded to an older post myself and there's always someone handy who will quickly chastise you. Don't let that upset you. Most of us learn such "rules" as we go along. There's a lot of wisdom available here. Don't let a sharp reply get to you. Thanks for participating.