What kind of error is this ‘77 Nickel

Was going through a jar of my old register coins tonight. I’m not familiar with errors but I pocket coins that I think may have something strange going on. Have no idea how long I have had it. Probably several years just sitting on the bottom of a mason jar waiting for me to find it again

 

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Little off center nice find its a keeper.

 

great thanks. There are so many different types of errors. Trying my hardest to absorb everything I can so I can stop asking so many questions!


I’d imaging that the more it’s off center the better eh?

 

Not off center. It's a misaligned die.

 

MAD = misaligned die. A cool find. A keeper.

 

Really?hmm I get confused between them sometimes when there this small and I usually don't see them on nickels.

 

Thank you guys!

quick question, I’d imagine that this type of error is fairly common in most coins. Obviously maybe not always by a ton. But is there a guideline as to what’s a keeper and at what point do I just toss it back??

 

Probably everyone has their own opinion on what's a keeper and what's a spender. I'll keep a coin if I feel it has enough added value above face, if I need it to fill a hole in an album, because it's pretty, it's odd looking, just because I like it, etc. Collect what you like and keep whatever you want to. Just have fun.
Here's a great site to learn about the different kinds of error coins: http://www.error-ref.com/

 

I'd like to second thomas mozzillo's response. I'd like to add a couple of things.

First, keep in mind that the likelihood of getting rich from an error coin you find is slim. I am pretty sure we have similar if not better odds of winning the lottery.

Secondly, because you are learning the ins and outs of coins, I recommend you hang on to anything you find that catches your eye or is an obvious error. I say this because as you learn more, there will come a day when you regret having tossed a coin back into the wild. Keep them for a while, research how the error happened, and, in a year or so, if you're not more attached to a coin, spend it. I am assuming that you find no more than a couple of bucks a year of coins that are mint errors. In my experience, a buck worth of errors in a year would be high. I have never found anything as significant as your 1977 nickel. In fact, as far as I can remember (not very long), the only thing I've found in the past year is a cent piece that is most likely post mint damage but could possibly be a clipped blank.

Best regards to all!
David

 

I would save the coin just for fun. It's a great example and the misalignment is pretty bold.

 

Thanks again guys. I don’t collect to invest. I absolutely love coins and search just because I truly find them interesting and that there are so many variables and possibilities like errors and things like that. I’m just excited to learn a bit more about the coins that I do like and keep and find interesting.

 

No.. Misaligned Die Strike

It is easy.. When only one side looks off and the other is centered it is Misaligned.
Look at the pictures again.

 

So I now understand Misaligned strike. But if the front and reverse of the coin are both off center what is that called ?

 

That's a nice find. Too bad it has a lot of circulation damage though.

 

I don't think what you have here is really that common. I've not come across one like that ever in my change before.

 

I’d agree. My collection consists literally 99% register finds. I have been collecting and rummaging though register changes for 22 years and I don’t believe I have ever found anything else close.
I’m finally going though my old finds after years of just tossing them in the jar and I’m finding some cools stuff I had no clue about that I look forward to learning about

 

A misaligned die strike. Nice one and a good find. It's known as a MAD.