In looking through 4 rolls of Millard Fillmore Dollars, I was having no luck. I didn't see anything but scratches and bag marks. When I got to the 4th roll I saw that the outside flat area just on the outside of the obverse was "wavy." I could see where each star, date number, mint mark and letter that had been pressed into the rim was by looking at the coins obverse with the naked eye. In fact most of the 4th roll has the same wavy edge element on the reverse with a few on the obverse. You can see the waves better than they show in the large reverse photo. It's as if the rim lettering is just off center and is causing the flat edge to be pushed up at each impression. The strongest example makes it look as if the waves are an intentional part of the coins design. Is this common, or did I find a minor error? Thanks, Ben
This is caused from having a higher than normal amount of pressure on the edge lettering machine. Enough so that as the letter gets pressed into the side of the coin, it displaced enough metal to cause a slight bump above each letter in the rim. Compare the lettering (side by side) of your wavy edged coin with a coin which does not have the waves and I'm sure you'll see lettering that is less bold, deep and pronounced.
Yes, you're correct, they do seem to be deeper and the letters could be a little sharper, but all of the waves on the coins are always on one side only and always at the bottom of the stars and letters. I would think that it had more to do with the position of the edge lettering, more of an collar positioning problem, but it's not far enough off to get the letters past the edge of the coin. I have looked at lots of rolls of coins, not as many as some, but this is the first time I've seen this problem and it's 90% of the coins in this roll. Some show only slight waves, but some show every letter and star as a large wave on the flat outer edge. The waves are even raised high enough to feel. I just want to know if it's common on the lettered edge coins. Has anyone else seen this? Thanks, Ben
I can see the ripple effect. It's sort of interesting. Maybe you should submit it for attribution and call it the "Yoko Uno Dollar". Chris PS. I'm not making fun of you. I'm serious!
I hate these Fillmore dollars! I must have searched through 100's of P rolls and havent found anything! The edge lettering looks much weaker on these than the other presidents. Im searching some right now! got 8 rolls left. Ill be happy with a clipped,sintered,or maybe even a partial edge?? If you find a Fillmore P error...save it,and let us know!
Here are 2 better shots showing just how much wave the flat area on the coin has. This coin seems to have the deepest waves from the roll, but I have maybe 20 coins that have about the same amount of distortion. I'll be sending the one with the deepest waves to have it graded and verified as an error. (Crossing fingers.) Ben
Based on the photos above, would it be worth sending this coin for grading as an error. This is one of 19 coins from the same roll with the wavy edge. this one has the highest waves on the outside rim. The edge lettering is offset to the bottom of the stars and lettering and is deeper than other coins I've seen. I found the waves on both the obverse and reverse of the 19 coins with 15 on the reverse. The wave on this coin are high enough to feel and are almost an even height all the way around the coin. Thanks for any suggestions! Ben
