My 2005 Proof set had a missing piece in the "E" of ONE on the reverse. Should I have returned this or is it something worth keeping? I assume this is caused by a piece of something getting stuck in the die during the minting process.
Welcome to the forums Fropa! Nice to have a fellow cheesehead around here...I'm originally from WI also...whereabouts are ya? First I must say...WOW!...Great pics! As for the error, I guess it's a matter of opinion. Personally I think it's kind of neat and would probably keep it...very unique.
Thanks Joesmom. That was my first try at taking pictures of a coin. I used a digital camera through the eyepiece of my binocular microscope. I grew up in Weyauwega and have lived in Camp Douglas for the last 4 years.
Fropa, those are similar to the problems I saw on my Proof set and I sent it back. My theory is that a Proof set should be the absolute best that the Mint can produce and shey should be next to perfect. Keeping them as errors might be one thought but I felt differently about mine.
Looks like a strike through error to me - not very common on Proof coins. Whether you keep it or return it - only you can decide.
I would return it because of the suspicion that assigning higher valuations to errors like this could be a passing fad among collectors, and the coin might be worth less money in the future. This isn't a double-die or something like that. It appears to be damage. But I'm usually wrong about these things so you'd better keep it.
I think I will keep it because it is the only set I've ever received with anything out of the ordinary. But I'm sure since I'm keeping it it will be worth nothing because of the error.
I'm just offering my amateur opinion, along with a warning to the reader that I get these things wrong more often than I get them right. Maybe I should go out of the opinion business as my contribution to the hobby. It's sort of like TV shows. If I like something, it is usually off the air soon afterward. If I don't like it, it runs for 10 years. I have two major "blind spots" in my thinking about coins that are apparently incurable. First, I can't understand why certain errors [the one shown in this thread being a perfect example] would be worth more than properly struck coins. Second, I can't understand why the premium is so high for higher grade coins over the coins one grade below them. Certainly some premium is warranted, but not the multiples I see being paid. I don't understand either of these things, and probably never will.
I'm with you on this one Cloudsweeper, and I've been at it a lot longer than you have. I've come to the conclusion, there isn't any real reason, so I have quit thinking about it any longer. Sure has saved me a lot of money since I've quit trying to go by "their" rules. (who ever "there" is) My new rule is: as long as it's my money we are talking about, either selling or buying, I make all the rules. They (who ever they are) either agree or I take my money and go elsewhere. Try it, you may find out it works for you as well as it has for me.
