Buyer beware! May have been discuss in the past, but they hand these out at the Mint. Seen similar blanks (new zinc coated) on Ebay selling for twenty bucks! Total BS, they freaking gave me and my wife a couple when we toured the Denver Mint last week. Along with a nice MS Shield penny...
Yeah, I have a few of those myself. Also, how can anyone authenticate an unstruck planchet is from any particular year? Copper-plated zinc cents have been around since 1982 and I don't know how anyone can differentiate an unstruck 1983 cent planchet from an unstruck 2010 cent planchet.
Good point! Ours where cello'd with the '10 Shield penny, but still could very well be old stock? I also don't know how long the Mint has been handing these out on tours? BTW: I thinking on slow days you can hit up the gift shop and find a decent mint set without going through the BS of returning in the mail! Unfortantly they told me they only had Kenney's rolls! But they do have the full line of proof and uncirc sets. Here's a little tid bit they told me over there; Philly sends Denver their coins, and Denver wraps them for uncirc sets.
Interesting. Like Hobo said, I don't know if there's a way to tell the difference. One question, is there a rim on the blank you received from the mint?
Yes, they are planchets (with a raised rim), not blanks (with no raised rim). To my understanding, the copper plating is applied after the rim is upset. Cent planchets are supplied by a contractor. The Mint produces planchets for other denominations. (I'm not sure if that is true for the Golden Dollars. And contractors provide planchets for silver, gold, and platinum bullion pieces.)
This is slightly off topic, but I just submitted a dime blank (no upset rim) to NGC at FUN. It is copper without the clad layer, and its size and weight are very, very slightly less than a normal dime. I'll be anxious to see what they have to say about it. Chris
Yea, the U.S. Mint is in no way set up for plating! Were talking giant vats of acids and tons of juice to power the electrolysis process. Very specialize with tons of EPA requirements. The Shield Penny I got is about a MS-68... BTW: The blank planchet is about .005" or so smaller in diameter cause it hasn't been stamped yet. It just fell right in my Dansco...
Looks like you may need to return? BTW: take a close look at the machines (The cello packers) at the last part of the tour! When I went they had pictures of the 2011 Quarters on the machines that do the wrapping for uncirc sets. In the south east corner was an edge lettering machine for uncirc sets. As you now, it's not a very long tour only 30 minutes, but the key to really enjoying it; ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS! Get technical with these dudes.
I have taken the public tour and was disappointed having had tours that took me on the floor rather than looking at the operations from a gallery that keeps you far removed from the operations on the floor. Back about 1993 or 1994 I used a connection at ANA to arrange a personal tour of the Denver Mint. The tour guide took me through most of the Mint. I was the only one on the tour. It was GREAT! But that will never happen again, especially post-9/11. ANA arranges special Denver Mint tours during Summer Seminar that go FAR beyond the tours open to the public. I have taken this tour a couple of times and I am signed up to go on the tour again this summer. To take this tour you must sign up early enough for the Mint Police to do a basic background check on you. When you arrive at the Mint you must show a photo ID to get in. Then you must pass through security. You are not allowed to bring in: coins, weapons, recording devices (camera, audio recorder, cell phone, etc.). You are thoroughly searched before being allowed in but that is nothing compared to the search you must submit to before they allow you to leave. If they catch you trying to sneak out anything (coin, errors, webbing, bowties, etc.) you will really regret it. On the tour a couple of years ago we got a brief overview of the history of the Denver, its mission, and its operations. For a tour on the floor you must wear ear and eye protection and (I think) a hardhat. I'm going from memory but I remember first we saw the packaging room where Proof coins, Uncirc Sets, etc. are placed in their holders and packaging. Next we stopped by several presses cranking out Cents by the thousands every minute. We saw a blanking machine making blanks for dimes; we got to check out the blanks as well as bowties. (It is VERY tempting to keep a bowtie - it is very small - but I don't feel like facing a federal crime. We also saw an annealing machine, a blank washing machine, etc. We checked out presses making dimes and quarters. It is very cool to hold dimes a few seconds after being struck and feel the heat produced from striking. We went past the die room and a lady showed up an obverse and reverse die for a State Quarter but we were not allowed to hold the dies ourselves. We also did not get to observe dies being hubbed. We saw the room where Presidential Dollars are made but we were kept at a distance. (Remember all the problems they had with some of the coins not getting edge lettering?) We saw where the ballistic bags of coins are kept on the floor below waiting to be shipped out. We also got to see several coils of strip waiting to be fed into the blanking machines. All in all it is a great tour that FAR exceeds what you see on the public tour. I highly recommend this tour if you can attend.
Real Cool Hobo! Now who do I need to bribe down in the springs to get a tour like this! Had the Fed checks, and CCW permits in the wallet! I had a chance a while back when my mom worked at the mint, but unfortunately wasn't into it like today. Still regretting that for sure! I bet the public tour doesn't cover 5% of that facility! I actually got more info from one of the cops that herds the tail end of the pack. We really got into the Numismatics thing. Heck we were even talking about the Thompson machine guns they still use in emergencies!!! (For you gun lovers, they have a couple on display along the tour!)
There's still a number of people out there who collect these. Even though they might hand a few out at the mint doesn't mean they're all over the place. People do pay money for these and rightly so. $20 bucks on Ebay(that's actually high for what these normally sell for) or drive perhaps hundreds of miles to possibly get one at the mint? You do the math.
Ron, You aren't that far from the Springs. Have you considered attending Summer Seminar? (You have to be an ANA member to attend.) The tour is offered as a field trip during Summer Seminar. I have no idea if they will allow you to only go on the Mint tour (if you don't attend Summer Seminar). Give Susan or Emily a call and ask. (Tell 'em Bruce referred you.)
