Sometimes we do a disservice to newer collectors.

What's that they say about ignorance, it's bliss? No wonder they're happy to collect these. A doubled die is a repeatable error. Every coin struck on that die is going to come out that way. It's only when the error is caught or the die otherwise retired that the mintage is sealed. Strike doubling is caused by movement of the planchet in the collar, that's all. It's not repeatable. No two are the same. No one can find the one another found. No one can categorize them because they're all different. I save them when they're extreme because I think they're cool. No high-powered scope required. But I don't lose sight of what they are. The Mints are literally banging out hundreds, even thousands, a minute. The collars loosen from all that banging. Those loosened planchets rattle around and are cut imperfectly for it. Go ahead, collect it. Pay extra for it, even, that's your business. But find it, if you look hard enough, on just about every coin minted, somewhere on the coin, as a perfect cut is rather the exception than the rule. And that's the difference that makes all the difference. It's why die doubling is collectable, and strike doubling isn't, to any knowledgeable collector.

 

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