showing off

[cnladue]

can not find a variety but i can find errors-

[JRocco]

Somebody sure had fun making that error

[Gabe]

[cnladue]

My dad bought me this error for my 10th birthday in 1969.Along with it has always been a letter that says -'august 8,1969-Received this date from U.S. Secret Service, Sacramento,mint error 1cent coin(genuine).'-then has a stamp that says- U.S.Secret Service
Suite 3540 -650 Capital Ave
Sacramento, California 95814

every one in a while i see another one that looks JUST LIKE mine and it has often made me wonder.I have heard stories of a mint employee that was arrested in 1965 for making spectacular errors ,while at work at the mint and this would fit in that time frame.So what do all of you experts think?by the way ,all the others I have seen that look like this one are 1964s.

[Bob P]

I don't quite know what to make of this one. It looks like a triple strike in some places, but the lack of complete coverage by the 2nd large strike makes me wonder a bit. The small portion looks like a genuine second or third strike.
As far as the letter from the U.S Secret Service, that would normally be somewhat suspicious as well. Their job I would think would be to confiscate and have these things destroyed if they were made by a mint employee. On the other hand, they have been known to return items deemed genuine mint errors. Definitely got me thinking about this one. I would think a person to ask his opinion of this would be Mike Diamond of CONECA or some of the other mint error guru's.

[Teryble]

That is very unique Carol! You have had that since childhood?
Take care, T

[cnladue]

while trying to find proof of the employee in the late 60s making spectacular errors ,I stumbled upon this information about recent thefts and security in the mint-i will link the paper and most important are pages 11 and 12.-It tells a interesting account of how a mint employee was arrested and prosecuted for stealing 400 to 500 error coins between the years of 1998 and 2002-he would only take a few at a time and the metal detectors were calibrated to detect much larger amounts of coinage.it also explains how now errors are going to be VERY RARE! http://books.google.com/books?id=UpTFRRzBYVoC&printsec=toc&dq=where+to+find+error+coins&source=gbs_toc_s&cad=1#PPA11,M1

[Gabe]

[cnladue]

sometimes when i stare at the back of this one i think i see 4 hits.and sometimes i feel dizzy....

[Rhubarb]

I wouldn't call these type coins errors. The were purpossely produce intentionaly by mint worker's

Rhubarb

[Dick]

My question, after looking at the post several times, is this: How come the date is so very clear, and free of any problems, after having been "hit" that many times?
Dick

[mikediamond]

I told Carol what this was on the CONECA forum, so I don't know why she's reluctant to share that information. It's a genuine error and I have no reason to suspect that any assist was given. It's a saddle strike (tandem strike) on a previously struck cent. The two off-center strikes are weak, probably as a result of insufficient die approximation (excessive minimum die distance). I can't tell from here whether one of the off-center strikes was delivered by the same die that delivered the first strike. It wouldn't surprise me. Rapid changes in minimum die distance have been documented many times on double-struck and multi-struck coins.

I've seen other saddle strikes on struck cents in which one or both off-center strikes were weak. And I've seen a saddle strike of normal strength overlying a weak first strike.

Despite the absence of buckling, it's easy to tell this is a saddle strike from the minimum distance between the two off-center strikes and by the head-to-head orientation of the two off-center strikes.

[Rhubarb]

Mike,

When you say "Saddle" Strike exactly what does that mean? Thank's.


Rhubarb

[mikediamond]

A saddle strike is a tandem strike -- two strikes delivered simultaneously instead of sequentially. Dual and quad presses have an arrangement where adjacent dies pairs are close enough to strike the same off-center coin or planchet at the same time.

[cnladue]

I am sorry I did not have enough confidence in myself to post what you had said about this beautiful error on coneca ,Mr. Diamond.I started to reply several times with what I had understood you to have said but it never sounded like what you just said.Every collector except you has told me this is a fake and several have even been very rude to me about it.Not here, but in private conversations and emails over the past few months.Sometimes I feel so stupid I feel reluctant to post anything anymore.