How does a coin get struck on a wrong planchet?

[coppersleuth]

I've always been curious as to how a coin gets struck on a wrong planchet.

We hear about (and see pics of) quarters struck on nickel planchets, pennies struck on dime planchets, etc.. etc..

How does this even happen? Do the same die presses get used for multiple denominations, essentially just switching out the dies as needed? I assume then that somehow there is a remaining blank planchet (or previously stamped but not ejected planchet) from the previous denomination run that somehow gets mistakenly left?

Seems strange to me how this can happen, but obviously it must be fairly rare givent the prices these achieve.

[coop]

You mention one way like the copper 1943 and steel 1944 Cents, the remaining coins in the run were left in place and received the wrong planchet for the die pairs in those years.

But another way is that the bin that was used prieviously may have had a planchet that somehow didn't get emptied out and came loose in the next batch of coins run. Only a smaller planchet would fit into the collar, so you would never see them with the larger planchet into a small collar, it wouldn't fit. But the smaller one would work.

A third way is for someone at the mint to take a wrong planchet and insert it into the machine on purpose. Seems like a heard of one emplyee in Philly that was fired for doing that, thus the $1.25 coin some time back. (Sac on one side-Quarter on the other side) Seems like most of these errors showed up from that mint, so that would explain those errors. 11 Cents coin also, a dime fully struck and them re-struck with a cent. Pretty sure that what's happened there also, or like my second explination getting stuck in a bin and ending up in a re-run of Cents.

There is also an run of quarters on 1970 that used the wrong stock, they used the stock for a dime material and cut quarters out of it. But I've only heard of that happening once. Sometimes you see these on ebay. So anything is possible/made at the mint.

[n1tot]

[coop]

I believe those are both copper planchets. The re-use of copper casing for the 1944-46 Cents were made from recycled bullet casings. But the 1941 is a pre-war coin and made from copper. The reason it looks like brass is that someone cleaned it and it appears that color. Brass is a mixture of copper and Zinc. Unless the weight is severly different it should be copper. The U.S. Mint does strike coinage for other countries, but this looks like a cleaned copper coin to me.

[eagames]

I'd be happy to find a cent on a blank or struck dime. Just think how it would feel to find a real mule coin

To make a real mule coin like the Sac Dollar/Quarter must have been more than a mistake. Someone had to pair up a die from a quarter with a die from a dollar. Check out the pics in the article below:

http://home.earthlink.net/~smalldollars/dollar/page28.html

Being more into cent coins the one I'd love to find is the Cent/Dime mule shown in this article. I'd go even more nutty if I found that!!!!!!

http://www.coinfacts.com/error_coins/mules/1999_cent_dime_mule.htm

[coop]

Ed: I to wish I could find some of the errors in rolls that would bring big bucks. So I just have to settle with images I take off ebay and make into a collage.
Well at least we can see them even if we can't own them..

[eagames]

Hey Coop,

Here's a little zoo of major errors. None are wrong planchets.

My favorites are the top right out of collar broadstrike like the one in your pic, bigger than a nickel. Other neat ones are the clip that looks like a mooncent in bottom center and the saddle strike near the center. The saddle strikes are from modern cent presses, they're siamese presses so they use 2 die pairs and strike 2 cents in each strike so if a planchet lands in between both die pairs strike it on the edges making saddle strike cents, this one looks like Mickey Mouse with 2 ears. Some of the off centers are struck over other ones so they have incuse images on one side, some are truly 2 tailed with an off center tail then an incuse stuck over on the other side, some were fully struck then struck off center and a few have 2 dates. This little zoo is mostly 83 to 87 p and d.

I got all these years ago at a coin shop. A guy came in with a bag of 700 and the dealer offered the guy 50 cents each and the seller said he wanted a dollar, the dealer growled at the guy "then keep em". I had exactly $20 so I asked the guy if I could pick 20 and he said sure. Most were no date off centers but I picked out the ones with dates or neat stuff. To this day I'm sad that I didn't have enough money to get the whole bag since I see they get decent prices nowdays. Still a neat little zoo all for $20

[coop]

Nice batch Ed. I've got a few off centers and a few clipped coins. I find them interesting, but I like varieties better. They aren't damaged to make them interesting.

[eagames]

Me too but if I come across errors or a bargain like this one while variety hunting I'll take them

In this bunch most were 83 and 84 plains so I looked hard hoping for a major error plus variety but found none.

That would make an interesting coin

[Dick]

ED, did you get that guy's name, and address? (LOL). I'll bet there are more than several of us that woul;d like to meet him! I for one. Those are the kind I like to find. Only a few so far.
Dick

[eagames]

Dick,

I have a neat 06-p MAD cent for you.

Check your messages

[coop]

Nice avatar Ed. Nice to see members use them as you associate something besides there name with their posts.

[eagames]

Thanks Coop!

I thought nobody would recognize Abe shrunk down to 125x125 but he still looks like himself