1958 errors, both sides

Very new here, 1 error on one side, possibly 3 or 4 on other side ( from 1 incident of course) opinions on this? Value?

 

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Sorry, but all of the marks you circled are damage. The coin took a few hits in the 61 years since it left the mint

 

The letter B on the face side?

 

Yes, it is damage!

Chris

 

Tough crowd. Thank you (I think)

 

yes, all damage

 

Not at all.. Just honest and to the point.. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Factual, accurate answers that are short, sweet, and to the point. Coin Talk aims to please

As an FYI, the other 3 members that responded probably have a combined 125-150 years of collecting experience and have demonstrated their knowledge of numismatics on this site for years. And those guys are just the tip of an iceberg here. These aren't a bunch of random newbies taking a guess.


When I was new to collecting back in the 70’s information was hard to come by. Now you have sites like this where an expert (and I don’t use that term loosely) can answer your question in a few hours. Stick around, read the posts, and book mark the links. You’ll learn a lot

 

If you can imagine (if this was an error), the way coins are minted,
the B on the die that struck this coin would have to be a mistake. (broken B) And if that were true, hundreds of thousands of coins that this die struck that year would all have the broken B. There isn't that error. Coins are used a lot and subject to all kinds of abuse, accidentally, intentionally and just in the normal course of doing business. They get hit all the time and metals move or it can even get broken. That's what happened to the B.
Also, if the die had a broken B, then it would probably be called a "variety".

 

Thank you, I didn't know metal could move and "stick" I will be reading and learning. I'm a detectorist looking for a winter hobby. I will learn from the best : )

 

You're welcome to share your detecting finds also!

I do all the time!

 

Is that the Wonder Wheel in the background?

 

Welcome to CT! Unfortunately it's damage.

 

Just so you know, there are so many years of experience that have responded to you I can't count them. Sounds like you're new and it takes time to learn.

FYI...The B looks like it was hit and the top bar on the B moved to the left when it was struck. Very common on copper but a bit rarer on Nickels. It still happens so if you look closely you'll see what I mean. Stick around and you'll learn a lot.

Again, welcome to CT.

 

Welcome to the neighborhood. In numismatic terms, it is PMD, or Post Mint Damage meaning it happened after it left the mint, so isn't an error. Nice photos by the way.

 

YES! .. I detect Coney Island about a dozen times per year

 

Metal can easily move and stick. Let's think of a couple obvious non-coin examples first:

Is this car a manufacturing defect, or is it some kind of damage?
How would you know it was damage if you didn't see it occur?
If someone told you it came from the factory like that would you believe them as they tried to sell it to you as a "rare factory made car"?
Obviously not as we know each car made has pieces mass made and are similar. They all look the same coming off the assembly line.
Did you know coins are essentially made on an assembly line, have a defined process in order to produce all similar looking coins (from thousands of dies)?


Next pull out one of your non-stick pans.
Yeah, the one with all the scratches and dents on it. Were the scratches and dents there from the factory? Or was it damaged sometimes after that ?
And notice the scratches move metal or other stuff when you look closely.


Now let's look at your coin.
First here's a better condition 1958 nickel. Since we know cars all look the same off the assembly line and we know when to identify when something happens to it we can compare you nickel to another one. Since they are mass produced like cars are.

(1) Your first top arrow. That clearly looks like a scraping mark. Something scraped against it, pushed down and moved metal possibly removing metal too. Maybe someone hit it with a pan pretending the pan's edge was a baseball bat and the coin was something else?
(2) in CENTS, the C clearly had something pointy-like strike it. Thus creating a crater and pushing metal around in a circle like area. You can also tell it was pushed from the bottom as there is now a ridge at the top of the circular area.
(3) the S in STATES. You can see a "swipe" across the top of the S which started at the E (actually if you really look closely you can see it at the T and the edge of the A). Something clearly pushed some metal down, collapsing the inside of the top part of the S and possibly knocked off some metal there from the top of the S.
(4) the rim part shows that the parallel lines of the rim are smashed. Something smashed it down as you can also see a small impression in the middle of the squished area.


Coins, pocket change, etc go through many hands. Fall to the ground, get thrown in purses and coins rub up and hit against each other, go through Loomis/Brinks Processing where they do use shovels to move them around when needed (think of the hits coins get from metal shovels), dropped in parking lots where cars run them over; get stuck in coin operated laundry/vending machines .. it's basically unlimited potential unlimited methods a coin can get damaged.

One has to remember it's metal. Just like your car is. Just like a door handle is, or a kitchen pot. Coins are not stored separately in velvet lined pouches to protect them. And yes, they rust/corrode too.

People do not take care of coins as they do practically anything else.

The key is, understanding coins get damaged, and then identifying it as damage, not as an error/variety. Remember where the coin came from and how it's used.

Sure there are exceptions. But learning the basics of identifying damage is key in building and understanding. Otherwise, nearly every coin you look at closely will look "different" from one fresh from the US MINT before any hands touch it.

 

That would be a great spot. My best find in a forest in WI is a 125 year old sword stuck in its sheath, some copper nuggets.... it's a different hunt on the trails. Thanks for sharing

 

Clawcoins - that is an excellent and well-written
compare/contrast study with the
car & frying pan. Easy to understand.

I hope you keep it, and use it as necessary in other
posts.

 

@Clawcoins
I can copy and paste your post about a dozen times with all the PMD we see on a daily basis!

Great Explanation!