Dot Dot Dash Dot....

I guess that's sorta s.o.s in morse code (kinda,LoL).

I'm new here so I'll apologize in advance if this subject has been done or is an obvious thing..I did a search first and could not find answers for my questions so.........

I'm just slowly learning about dots on coins.

Are they a good thing or can they make the coin less valuable?

Are they errors or are they done on purpose?

Are any mistakes on coins a good thing?

And lastly, can dots be found anywhere on a coin or are they always in one spot?

At first I thought they would only be around the date but I seem to be finding them (online) in other spots too.

I'm kinda hooked on looking for dots on my coins now but still really don't know what I'm looking for exactly. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanx in advance! :hatch:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I think you are looking for nice ancient coins in which you can get more S.O.S.

 

I don't understand your reply?...

 

huh???? can you explain this with a little more detail or provide a pic?

 

Sorry, I thought most people on these boards would be familiar with dots...I mean little dots on coins that seem to make them more valuable like this (next to the date).

 

The only "dots" and "dashes" that quickly come to mind on US coins are the "large and small dot" after Morgan's initial on some Morgan dollar varieties and also the dashes ( thick and thin) that also occur under some date's digits on Morgan Dollars. I am aware of the dots on some foreign coins, but that is not my area.

Jim

 

Well there are a few US varieties besides morgans that have dots. Like the 1800 dotted date bust dollar - in US coins cases I think they are die defects, but not like that coin from canada. Looks like that dot after the date was meant to be their - maybe this is the canadian version of varieties? I am not positive about other world coins which use dots.

 

It all depends on why the dot is there. Sometimes a dot is there because the engraver decided to put one there (This can be the case with coins with Arabic inscriptions often times extra dots are included simply for aesthetic reasons.)

On coins that use chromium plated dies sometimes a flake in the plating will result in a dot on the coin.

A dot can be deliberately placed on the die to indicate it was struck later than the date on the die such as your 1937 five cent.

A dot may appear due to a rust pit in the die.

Whether it has an effect on value depends on whether it is on all of the examples of a specific die (and can be used to identify a specific variety) and the rariety of that variety.

In some cases it's just a matter of promotion and hype. Canadian coins at one time were known for a number of "dot" coins due to plating flakes. For awhile they were high valued, but now most of them have fallen into obscurity and minimal value.

A die that was marked with a dot for a specific reason is valued for its scarcity as a variety compared to the unmarked variety and the rest of the series.

 

Actually "Dot Dot Dash Dot", pronounced dididahdit, is the letter "F".

SOS is ...---... , pronounced didididahdahdahdididit.

 

WELCOME TO THE FORUM.
Dots have already been sort of explained here so I won't bore you with more.
However, as to errors on coins, mostly error coins are horrible and worthlesss. :goofer: For example there is those silly ones that make you think something is wrong with your eyes because the look doubled. If you look up on any price list you would see the 1955 Double Die Lincoln Cent listed as well as the 72 Double and many others. For some odd reason the prices after them is higher than a normal, regular, nice coin of the same date. Just don't know why. Lots of coins are off center and those too always cost more for some reason.
In reality almost all error coins are worth more than if that coin was normal.
I would suggest you get a copy of the Red Book by Whitman Publishing. Near the end, about pages 400 and up, the many types of error coins are explained and some of the possible values.
Error coins are purposely made by the USMint to make it fun to look for them. Sort of a hang over from looking for those Easter Eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny.:goofer:

 

Well thanx everyone. I understand a bit better now.

Basically put, coins with dots have to also be more scarce or rare like a low run or something to have more worth. I guess if there is 100,000 coins from one year with a dot...they're not so special.

I just recently found my old coin collection from when I was a kid. (I'm almost 42 now, they were at my mom's place) so I'm starting to learn about coins and what's involved with them.

The dot-dash thing was just my attempt at humour but I'm glad one of you smart folks knew I was playing with morse code! S.O.S. is about the only sound in morse code I know how to do...LoL!

The many different dots I was refering to was partly from this site I found on the internet while looking around at coins...I have NOTHING to do with this site, I merely found it and it seems to have a lot of dot coins going for more than I would expect.

http://nwcoin.com/advanced_search_r...rt=4a&osCsid=c1312d75dd1b6af1a0ea277a8a6113ab

 

Speaking of dots and dashes, a long time ago I attempted to try out for ham radio licenses. A requirement was to learn Morse code and I just couldn't remember all that stuff so never made it. Of course that was before the internet so I guess not a big thing today anyway.

 

Since not too many folks know things like morse code anymore I try to learn just the basics of several languages instead of everything.

Things like:

"Help, S.O.S Mayday"!

"Where is the washroom"?

"Okay if my wife asks, we were here all night together".

"Beer please".

"Does your dog bite"?

 

Well morse code has passed it's prime and has been virtually retired to the history books - at least until there is a major electromagnetic pulse that wipes out our communications systems then we'll fall back on pulsing flashlights or something akin to smoke signals.

As for dots on coins, I think there are lots of coins with dots or periods in different places for different reasons. The only time they effect the value is when there are several varieties for any given year and/or denomination.

A trade dollar has several periods on the reverse and double eagles also have lots of dots (and stars on the perimeter). Some coins have arrows at the date to show a change of weight for that year, oddly sometimes it's for an increase and sometimes for a decrease in the weight.

The valuable ones are for varieties as they are few and far between definately not the norm.

 

In an interesting display of the perversity of human nature, since the Coast Guard stopped using it, and it was abolished as a requirement for an amateur radio license, interest and use on the ham bands has actually seen an upturn.

 

I don't know about foreign coins but i know on some american coins, they engraver will put a mark to indicate different die varieties.

 

Thanx all for the helpful info. You guys and/or gals are pretty cool here in this forum.

 

Now here is a stupid answer to those. On a TV show, can't remember which, someone did ask if his dog bites. He said no. The person asking then got bit by that dog. He said I thought you said your dog didn't bite. The other person said, mine doesn't but that is not my dog.
Of course nothing to do with coins you know.

 

LoL!

I think that was Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther Movies.

 

I really like morse code. Although I do not "ham" anymore, I am a life member of ARRL since 1971. Most of my DXCC award was using CW( code). Unfortunately, due to illness of my in-laws, we moved from country property to city, and there went my huge antenna array, and there went my Hamming. I miss the old days of heating my house with a humming pole pig and big finals.

Jim