All the metal scrap from the mint, and that includes the waffled coinsm are sold as surplus government property by the GSA. Anyone can buy it but it is usually purchased by the same companies that produce coinage strip for the mint. But if you want to buy up several tons of scrap metal you can have your very own waffled coins, chopped strip webbing, possibly broken parts etc.
I always wanted to try them with syrup! Why do they call Cancelled Coins waffles anyway? They don't even look like waffles This is what a Waffle design looks like!
The original info I have on waffle cancellations of coins was that the defective coins are sent out of the mint to specific contractors to cancel them for GSA sales at a later date for scrap. So, How could any be labeled by any TPG as a mint error, since it was done outside the mint by a contractor service and not by the mint or in the mint faciity?? Who would pay a premium for such as there are literally tons to be purchased through GSA auctions as long as they can pay higher than the other bidders? How much for a ton of mainly zinc? or bronze? Many feel ( like me ) that soon everything even very remotely from the production of coinage will be all mint errors or all single squeeze globs ~ DDO-2019-10905? Wexler and others will become very rich. How about coins scattered in a government parking lot, and collected after government cars had 'rashed' them ~ Oh, Mint Error of course. We are at the 'beanie baby' peak here for sure. For the younger members , I feel like I did when Philately ( stamp collecting) went into this melt down phase of hundreds and hundreds of releases and variations and caused true philatelic rarities go to 'cents on the dollar'. Follow the Money. Jim
Although I agree with your greater point and you know this, I have to take issue with the statement regarding Mr. Wexler. Perhaps you can explain exactly how his apparently nefarious plan will result in such great riches at $4 per coin and freely sharing on a site without advertising? Perhaps I'm missing something here?
The same for sports cards. Too many companies, too many "rookie" cards, too many limited edition, etc. I dont even know anyone who collects sports cards now
Ok, I agree with you, and I apologize to Mr. Wexler, I should not have mentioned him individually as perhaps he doesn't make money off of it. He is the one that most here identify as the expert on such coins. I should have included everyone who are involved in the seemingly encouragement of new identities and designations and the encouragement of collecting such as they are ( insert all of the You Tube and get rich off of ground-found coins people, and the "rare" sell promotions) ,going to become rich and famous, as such are easy to find on the ground, people. Even though Mr. Wexler has associates that evaluate some of the coins ( according to his website), he also has several sales sites in his name ( Main website) or tradename that sells ( On, (USA Coinbook. com), such DD, errors, etc ,. TPGs that only grade and attribute that do not to my knowledge sells their own coins directly are not included as for most, they do not attribute the majority of modern varieties and DD either.
The clarification is most appreciated, Jim, and honestly so. Although I haven't spoken to Mr. Wexler in some years, he has never struck me as one (a'la Ken Potter) simply trying to promote something negative or damaging in order to pad his pockets. Perhaps this has changed, but there was a time when he would give permission to folks wishing to use his photos, only asking for credit in return yet even this was widely abused. He seems to be willing to answer many of the questions people email to him, at least based upon what has been said here, and isn't the action of someone in it only for the money. Yes, he does sell coins, but if we look at it in context the vast majority are widget-level and certainly not something able to fund a retirement in a cardboard box. Perhaps this no longer holds true, but there was a time when the coins (varieties) he was selling were generally priced under to well under the average eBay selling price even though coming from one of the most reputable sources there is for such things. Aside from the very real possibility that I may have missed and/or something has changed, my only real point was that Mr. Wexler seems one of the good guys even if his name is regretfully often attached to nonsense. He clearly goes out of his way to provide the necessary information to help individuals make a (hopefully) reasonable decision as to what the different types of so-called "varieties" are, and shouldn't be faulted if misinterpreted or misused. That said, we certainly share the same concerns about where this is going and what damage it could do to the hobby as a whole. It's fast becoming a monster that no one person or even group could ever get back into it's cage.
They could if the coin was rejected by the mint as an actual mint error before it was waffled. Say an incomplete planchet or off-center for example
I haven't seen many waffled coins, but of the few, I haven't seen along those lines. But yes, I can see that. Jim
I would like to ask @Pete Apple this question. Pete. Do they cancel (waffle) Lincoln Cents? You are pretty good in getting answers for such questions
They probably do. I know they did at one time because when they first started waffling there were complete sets of waffled coins being sold and they did include cents.