1972 half dollar planchet error?

Discussion in 'What's it Worth' started by Thelionwarrior, Jul 20, 2012.

  1. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Sorry I'm new at collecting... what do you guys think?
     

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  3. phankins11

    phankins11 Well-Known Member

    Best Answer
    A) Yup, any grandpa, grandma, mom or dad, son or daughter (if you have kids) will quite readily agree that you know exactly what you're talking about....SMH B) there is no one here who *JUST* posts on message boards. Part of the reason you (and others like you) get so much flack here, is because the serious numismatists that are members here, and other forums, want to make sure that new collectors don't come here and read a ridiculous conversation like this and walk away thinking that every coin they find with some anomaly is a rare and valuable find.

    Challenge accepted!

    My Hypothesis: Your coin was squeezed in a vice, rotated after each squeezed, 5 times to give it 10 sides. Next, because squeezing the coin like that in a vice causes the coin to warp in an vertical direction relational to the orientation of the coin in the vice, it was laid on a flat hard surface and likely hammered with a rubber mallet (or something softer than the coin metal) to flatten the coin back out.


    For all those who don't like the idea of an innocent coin being harmed, turn your head now.

    So in about 45 seconds today, I was able to do this using the process I described above with a vice and rubber mallet. Imagine what I could do with more time. I'm 100% sure that after a try or two more (at the cost of $1) I cold duplicate your "error" exactly, but I've already spent 50 cents too much.

    View attachment 404844

    View attachment 404845

    To address the idea of your half being minted on the foreign planchet from Australia...

    I have 5 of these Australian coins and here's how its 100% impossible for your Kennedy half you have to have been minted on one of these planchets.

    First, your Kennedy half weighs around 11.3 grams (give or take for acceptable tolerances), while the Australian half dollar weighs in at 15.55 grams (again give or take for acceptable tolerances).

    View attachment 404849


    Strike 1!

    Next if you study the size of the two coins, one on top of the other, You will see that the Kennedy half dollar is smaller in diameter than the the Aussie half. Which makes sense because the Aussie half is 31.51 mm and the Kennedy half is 31 millimeters. Along with the Kennedy half being squeezed in a vice, makes the whole thing visibly smaller in diameter. My picture below shows this. The Aussie half on the bottom Kennedy half on top.

    View attachment 404848


    Strike 2!


    Next lets talk about metal composition. While both halves are, indeed, made from copper and nickel, you can see from the side profile pics that they are very different coins when it comes how that composition is constructed. The Aussie half is a solid alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel, there is no cladding. They mix the metals together roll them out into a big sheet and start punching blanks. The Kennedy half, however, is a clad coin. The coin has a 100% copper core which is sandwiched (bonded) between two layers of a copper and nickel alloy. This is a much more difficult piece of metal to produce and is, for the most part, unique to modern U.S. coinage. So if you look at my pics below you will see that the Aussie half on bottom has a solid gray silver edge while the Kennedy half has three very obviously visible layers to the coin.

    View attachment 404847

    Steeeeeeee-rike 3.... and you're out!


    Your coin was NOT minted on an Australian planchet (or any other foreign planchet for that matter) It was squeezed in a vice and hammered out to be flat after being squeezed.
     
    mikenoodle, Jwt708 and Kirkuleez like this.
  4. kookoox10

    kookoox10 ANA #3168546

    Looks to be post mint damage. Looks like whoever did that was playing around with a vice.
     
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  5. ziggy9

    ziggy9 *NEC SPERNO NEC TIMEO*

    post mint damage. someone has beat on the rim with a hammer
     
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  6. Hobo

    Hobo Squirrel Hater

    That half certainly did not leave the Mint in that condition. Someone with some time to kill flattened the edge of the half
    with a hammer and an anvil (or something similar).
     
  7. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    Definitely post-Mint damage!

    Chris
     
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  8. vdbpenny1995

    vdbpenny1995 Well-Known Member

    Someone most likely tried to make a ring out if it and decided it was too off and just let it be into circulation.
     
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  9. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    ummm... can we revisit this ? I just came across this picture of a dollar while looking up something else... I don't know what year it is... but is it a coincidence the design looks the same around the dollar as the design on my half dollar (which would probably be about the right size to fit in that dollar)? Thoughts? Anyone know what year this dollar is?
     

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  10. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Ok well I figured out that is a Susan B. Anthony dollar which didn't come out till 79.... So it can't be that... Maybe someone was just trying to make it look like that? hmmmm think I'll keep this piece anyways... weird coin...
     
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  11. Hobo

    Hobo Squirrel Hater

    The SBA Dollar is dated 1979, 1980, 1981 or 1999. The multi-sided rim is a design feature intended to help users differentiate the coin from a quarter (which is similar in size and also clad). The diameter of the coins are as follows:

    Kennedy Half 30.6 mm
    SBA Dollar 26.5 mm
    Washington Quarter 24.3 mm
     
  12. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    This is a follow up. I was not given this info by anyone so thought I would share. I inquired with the mint about the coin and their respinse was:

    Thank you for your request for historical data from the United States Mint.

    Unfortunately, we do not have the information you requested in our current records. Surviving United States Mint records from that time period have been retired to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under Record Group 104 and are under its jurisdiction for access and use. You may contact NARA directly through its Web site at www.archives.gov. You might also be able to find this information in “The Official Red Book: a Guide Book of United States Type Coins,” by Q. David Bowers, or in other publications in the Official Red Book Series.

    Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience this may have caused.

    For more information, you may contact us seven (7) days a week from 8:00 AM to 12:00 midnight Eastern Time. Hearing and speech impaired customers with TTY equipment can reach us Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time or by visiting us online at www.catalog.usmint.gov. To contact us by email, please reply to this correspondence or send an email to usmint-support@catalog.usmint.gov.

    We appreciate your interest in United States Mint products, programs and services.

    United States Mint

    Customer Service Center
     
  13. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Been doing more research.... found out the US Mint made a lot of money for Australia.... this bares a very close resemblance.... coincidence?
    uploadfromtaptalk1428455475652.jpg
     
  14. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Trying to get a hold of someone at the mint to see if my half dollar could have accidentally been put through the machine for Australias.... it looks really similar though. Look at the bottom edging and right side of thr Australian coin and my half dollar.
     
  15. Kirkuleez

    Kirkuleez 80 proof

    You've been researching this coin for three years? It's pretty clearly just damaged. The Australian coin that you posted has 12 sides and your coin has ten.
     
  16. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Nope I havent. I put it away for several years because someone like you said it was pmd but I never did believe it so I kept it. Now I have proof foreign coins were made from the mint apx the same size and with many sides. While it may not be this exaxt coin, the edging is to clear cut for it to be made pmd. I'll believe it's PMD when I get a response from someone at the mint telling me it wasnt possible. However I'm certain by looking at it that it is mint damage. Will post update when I get to the bottom of it.
     
  17. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Just wait till I get proof. :)
     
  18. Kirkuleez

    Kirkuleez 80 proof

    Why not just bring it to a local coin dealer and get their opinion or send it off to be certified?
     
  19. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Because they would not have any idea if an error like this was made and accidentally put into circulation. The mint has been known to make many errors. In 1972 heres a few....
    1972-D Lincoln Cent PCGS MS-60 Struck on a Philippine 5 Sentimos planchet (brass)1972-D Quarter Dollar PCI EF40 on an unidentified planchet1972-S PROOF 25c struck on an already Japanese 10 Yen. A proof double denomination on a foreign struck coin, Only 1 known PCGS. The US has never officially minted any coins for Japan.1972-D Eisenhower 1 Dollar struck on a 1 Piso (Philippines) planchet - ANACS1972-D IKE Dollar Struck on Philippine 1 Piso Planchet ANACS

    So yes.... it is very possible for mistakes to happen.
     
  20. Kirkuleez

    Kirkuleez 80 proof

    The mint literally makes millions of errors every year, nobody denies this. Grading companies certify them all of the time, it is what they are for. But if you don't believe that PCGS, ANACS or NGC can identify the difference between a damaged coin and a mint error, send it to Fred Weinberg or our own @mikenoodle. I'm sure that one of them could identify it.
     
  21. l.cutler

    l.cutler Member

    Notice how your coin is bent and bulged, there is no way it could have come from the mint this way. The dies would leave the coin perfectly flat. Your coin has been damaged, plain and simple, no doubt about it. Study up on the minting process and you will see that this just could not have happened at the mint.
     
  22. Thelionwarrior

    Thelionwarrior Active Member

    Sounds like you need to look at more error coins. No worries. I'll have confirmation soon enough. The 1959 wheat penny couldn't have possibly been made either.... but it was.
     
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