Just received/opened my 2006 U.S. Mint Legacy Set. The set consists of all the components of a 10-piece clad proof set plus a "Founding Father" proof and an "Old Mint" proof commemorative silver$. The Kennedy half immediately caught my attention. It displays an "S" in addition to and about three times the size of the mint mark. The extra "S" is rotated about 120 degrees clockwise and located above the first 0 in 2006 and below the "D" in God. I have taken a photo and would like to post it but it is 165.5bytes and consequently too large of a file for this application. Any suggestions on how I can reduce the size of the file or otherwise post the photo here?
Use a program like Photoshop. Post the picture on a website and enclose the URL in tags in your posting here. Email the picture to someone with the software and use knowledge to reduce it for you. I'm not sure, but I don't believe our Gallery has the same size limitations as the thread attachment. Click on the Gallery button at the top of any page, then click on the Upload button, follow the directions, and then use the URL of the resulting picture for method 2.
From the photo it has the appearance of a scratch or a thread but when viewing the coin you can tell it is actually a raised piece of metal indicating the die was gouged before striking. I wonder if someone at the mint with the initial "S" was trying to see if he could get away with personalizing a coin.
I will let the photo gurus walk you through what you need to do to reduce the size of the picture! The error sounds like a dropped letter and would be considered a significant find in the error world. The question now, is whether it is worth more in the set or worth more broken out and certified, graded and attributed. I can't wait to see the pics! Frank
Thanks Roy, I posted one here(see post #3 of this thread). I was able to post a better photo in the gallery also. Frank, unfortunately it doesn't look like a dropped letter. It looks more as if someone gouged the die freehand.
Car: Nice! Most probably, I will make the assumption that the capsule holding the coin did not break open, since you did not mention it, it is going to be a struck thru (thread). Very nice find. Congratulations. I forgot: This would be classified as an error, not a variety.
No, nothing is broken, it's in an acrylic or plastic case, just like a proof set would be. Intact, no cracks. Struck through, wouldn't that make an impression in the field? This appears to be raised.
Okay, if it is raised then even better, most likely then you have a struck thru (the thread) with the thread retained. The coin is getting better and better. Now, we just need the experts to weigh in on this and correct the heck out of me.
I emailed the photos to Ken Potter. I'm interested to hear his take on it. In the past he has requested I ship the coins to him to photograph. He then returned the coins and an article in Numismatic News followed about a month later. I will update this thread when I hear from him. Thanks Other Frank.
Car10, I apparently was posting my previous response while you updating the picture and I did not see the picture until later! The coin is either struck through a piece of thread or struck through a thin thread of metal (shaving) that came off another coin! I copied and pasted the picture to my email and increased the size and the object appears to be metal. The Other, Other Frank
The response from the expert, Ken Potter: Looks struck through lint. Interesting! Have a nice holiday! Ken