jasonbo
Sr. Member
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2005
- Messages
- 295
- Reaction score
- 3
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Round Rock, Texas
- Detector(s) used
- Ace250 / Cibola
Error Up side down edge lettering
2007 MINT ERROR Washington Dollar Coins with Smooth Edge. It has NO Date, NO Motto and NO Mint Mark
2007 G. Washington gold Dollar coin w/ blank edges seems most coomon
No Gold Coating
Extra Curl (unverified if this is an error)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
excerp from http://coins.about.com/od/errorcoinsdievarieties/a/edge_lettering.htm
Washington Dollar Plain Edge Coins - FAQs
There are a lot of incorrect rumors going around about the plain edge George Washington Presidential Dollars. These are the new golden dollars with no lettering on the edge, also called "missing edge lettering" and "Godless dollars" (because IN GOD WE TRUST is among the missing inscriptions.) The hobby collectively seems to be settling on the term "plain edge" and so that is the term I will use for now.
In addition to rumors, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about what the numbers on the boxes the dollars are shipped in mean, where the coins were rolled, and other details. I did some research, and my findings are below.
Is it true the coins are being recalled by the Mint (or the Fed, or banks, etc.)?
No, the Director of Public Relations for the United States Mint has said that there will be no attempt to recall the coins. The Mint is investigating how the error occurred and hopes to solve the problem before further mintages of Presidential Dollars.
Are plain edge Presidential Dollars still being found in Florida?
Yes. I am still getting reports as of this morning. Looking at the map, these reports are coming from rural and out-of-the-way banks. I also had a report Thursday of plain edge coins found in Indiana, which adds a new state to the list, but the reporting person hasn't yet responded about which Mint his coins are from.
Were all of the coins rolled by the F.S. String & Son Company in Pennsylvania?
No. None of them were! F.S. String only makes the wrappers, which they sell to the company who actually does the coin rolling for the Fed.
Who rolled the coins, then? And how does the process work?
The coins are rolled by a company called Coinwrap, Inc. They roll the coins for the Federal Reserve Banks, or "Fed," which pick them up and store them until banks order them. Typically, banks with multiple branches have a central bank that order the coins from their regional Fed. The branches then order the coinage they need from their own central bank facility. The coins are all transported around, of course, by armored car services.
What do the numbers on the $1,000 (40 rolls) boxes mean? The CWI# is the lot number, right?
Wrong. There is no such thing as a "lot number" on these boxes. They are stamped with three pieces of information. (a) The CWI#, (b) the date they were rolled, and (c) an inspector code indicating who inspected the box to make sure all the rolls were wrapped properly and the count was correct. The CWI# stands for the Coinwrap, Inc. location that wrapped the coins. The CWI location number that rolled the plain edge Washington coins found in and around the Tallahassee area is 103. Therefore, the CWI#103 is NOT a lot number, but simply a location number that appears on every single box of coins, of any type, Presidential or otherwise, that leaves that facility.
Why did nearly all of the Philadelphia plain edge dollars end up at one Coinwrap location?
According to top-notch error coin expert and leading error coin dealer Fred Weinberg, the Sacagawea and Presidential Dollars leave the U.S. Mint in huge containers called "ballistic bags," which hold 140,000 dollars in each bag. According to a Coinwrap employee (who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to reveal confidential company information) two of these ballistic bags of dollars are generally allocated to each coin-wrapping station. Therefore, it would seem that one or more of these ballistic bags was somehow filled, totally or partially, with unfinished coins at the Mint. (The edge lettering process is the final step before the Mint fills the ballistic bags for shipment out for individual wrapping.) Some experts believe that a batch of coins simply missed the edge lettering station altogether, but I am still holding to my theory that the Philadelphia plain edge coins were caused by some kind of mis-alignment of the edge lettering segment (as this machine is properly called, according to Eric von Klinger at Coin World magazine.) In my theory, due to mis-alignment of the edge lettering machinery, some of the coins missed the edge lettering segment die altogether, while others got their edges literally sheared off by something in the process, leaving them without edge lettering. I might or might not be correct, remember, this is just my theory.
If I want to buy unopened rolls on eBay to try to find my own plain edge dollars, and this CWI# isn't a lot number that might contain the error coins, is there any way to increase my chances?
If you see auctions for rolls that are from the correct Coinwrap, Inc. location, you might improve your chances by buying coins that were rolled at this facility on the same date, but there is a lot of fraud in the rolled coins selling business. It isn't very hard to unwrap these F.S. String wrappers, check the coins, replace the plain edges with normal coins, and roll them back up again. One coin dealer actually told me he'd been doing this for years! If you really want one of these coins, (or ten of them) why not just buy them outright on eBay? The price has dropped to around $50 to $80 per coin, so if you're going to pay $50 plus for a roll hoping to find one, why not spend the same amount of money for a guaranteed plain edge?
Are you recommending that I buy these coins on eBay?
Absolutely not! I very rarely recommend that people buy coins from any source other than reputable and honest coin dealers who are PNG members. If there are no PNG dealers in your area (although most have Web sites now and sell through the mail) you can buy from an ANA dealer. The reason you want to use dealers affiliated with these organizations is that you have some recourse if they sell you fake or mis-graded material (they would lose their valuable affiliations!)
Are fake plain edge Washington Dollars being sold on eBay?
Yes. I will have more information about how to authenticate a genuine plain edge dollar as soon as I have a few more study coins in my hands and can make confident statements in this regard. Please don't buy your coins on eBay; find a reputable PNG dealer. It's worth the extra money they charge to know you won't be ripped off.
Who gets credit for the "discovery coin," (in other words, who found the first plain edge coin and made it publicly known?)
It is abundantly clear that a man who goes by the moniker "Chicago Ron" was the first to discover and appreciate this plain edge error. Not only did he list the first auction (which closed for $612) Feb. 15th, (the release date of the Presidential Dollar,) he is the anonymous collector referred to on the front page of the current issue of the Numismatic News, where coin dealer Bob Feiler tells about the person in Arizona who says a friend of his had found a plain edge Presidential dollar. I will post a Collector Profile of this fascinating individual in the next couple of weeks. In the mean time, I find it beautifully ironic that the discovery coin comes from the Denver Mint, while the overwhelming vast majority of the plain edge errors come from Philly.
Is there any way to tell the difference between Denver plain edge GW dollars, and Philadelphia ones?
I don't know yet. Denver examples are extremely rare compared to Philly examples, and until I can study a few specimens from both mints, I can't say for sure. However, I am currently recommending that people who have found plain edge Washington dollars in Denver rolls hold onto them until this issue has been decided, because if we can tell the difference, Denver coins will be worth a lot more money.
I would like to thank Tom DeLorey of Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. for the many hours of his time spent teaching me about the errors on these Presidential coins, and coin errors in general. Fred Weinberg, widely acknowledged as the leading dealer and an important expert in mechanical type coin errors (as opposed to die variety "errors,") was very generous with his time and expertise in helping me understand the processes the Mint uses and how mechanical errors happen. Eric von Klinger, of Coin World magazine, has also been very generous with his time, knowledge, and experience while researching this error.
Photo of the stacks and stacks of plain edge Washington Presidential Dollars courtesy of a Tallahassee resident who wishes to remain anonymous. All photo rights reserved.
Saturday March 3, 2007 | permalink | comments (11)
U. S. Mint Issues Statement Regarding Plain Edge Presidential Dollar Errors
The U.S. Mint has issued a statement regarding the plain edge (missing edge lettering) George Washington Presidential Dollars. Unfortunately, the statement doesn't tell us much, but I will quote what has been given:
"A Statement from the United States Mint
The United States Mint has struck more than 300 million George Washington Presidential $1 Coins. We have recently learned that an unspecified quantity of these coins inadvertently left the United States Mint at Philadelphia without edge-lettering on them. It is unknown how many of these coins without inscriptions on the edge have been placed into circulation.
The United States Mint understands the importance of the inscriptions “In God We Trust” and “E Pluribus Unum,” as well as the mint mark and year on U.S. coinage. We take this matter seriously. We also consider quality control a high priority. The agency is looking into the matter to determine a possible cause in the manufacturing process.
Production of the Presidential $1 Coin, with its unique edge-lettering, is a new, complex, high volume manufacturing system, and the United States Mint is determined to make technical adjustments to perfect the process. As we adjust this new process, we intend to eliminate any such defects.
Consistent with the agency’s practice in such situations, the United States Mint has informed the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Treasury about this matter."
The statement sounds almost defensive, as if people are criticizing the Mint because it failed to put certain mottos and things on the coins (and maybe some people are, but I haven't heard about it if they have.) The statement also fails to acknowledge the small number of plain edge coins found from the Denver Mint in the Chicago area, which have been confirmed, and a few scattered Denver reports that are still unconfirmed as far as I know.
One thing that most coin collectors don't realize is the Mint's perspective on these things. Like all people who do a job or produce a product, they take pride in what they do, and want to produce a high-quality product that is as perfect as possible. When these large scale error events happen, while collectors are clamoring for an explanation, people at the Mint are embarrassed about these errors. While collectors may relish a juicy new unexpected variety, the Mint may feel humiliated that this happened, and I believe that is why we see statements like this.
I have a theory about how the plain edge errors happened. I think that a mis-alignment of the edge lettering device caused the coins to slowly "pull away" from the die, eventually not even touching them at all. Whether the problem is caused by vibration during the lettering process (where the coins roll through a groove-like "die" that impresses the edge inscriptions,) or whether human error, such as the machine operators failing to attend to the machine properly, the end result, in my thinking, is that the coins got further and further from the die, eventually leaving a batch of them with a very faint and/or no inscription.
This point about the very faint inscription is an important one. Most Americans don't examine their coins with high-power magnification, and so what appears, to their untrained naked eye as a plain edge, is turning out in some cases to be a very faint inscription. I have seen photos, and heard verbal reports from people who have these coins, that there are many specimens where the naked eye sees a plain edge, but the 10 power magnifier or the enlarged digital photo image shows a faint inscription. Ebay buyers beware!
I am currently working to compile a comprehensive report about all of the reported errors so far, including photos from folks who have been extremely generous in taking the time to make images showing their interesting finds, and I hope to have this information posted within a couple of days. In the mean time, if you find a George Washington Dollar error, please report it in the Comment section below, or email me at coins.guide@about.com.
Coin discovery & photo by Shawn Bell of bigbuckbell auctions.
Tuesday February 27, 2007 | permalink | comments (15)
Major Presidential Dollar Error - No Edge Lettering!
Update: See my list of known Presidential Dollar Edge Lettering Errors!
A major Presidential Dollar error has emerged! Coins with no edge lettering are showing up in two key locations; so far the majority of the "no edge lettering" error coins seem to be out of the Jacksonville Fed, (thousands of error dollar coins reported,) but I have reports of hundreds of error coins from the Chicago area, too. The Florida coins are from the Philadelphia Mint, while the Chicago coins are from the Denver Mint. There are sporadic (but unconfirmed) reports of this error showing up in other cities, too. (Please note that this is a correction from an earlier edition of this post that stated ALL missing edge lettering errors were from Philadelphia. This was a misunderstanding on my part engendered by the fact that a company in Pennsylvania wrapped all of the coins for the Fed.)
I want to reiterate that coins with the edge inscriptions written upside-down are not errors! The edge inscriptions are being applied randomly on circulation strike coins (but should always be right-side up on Proofs.)
The frenzy over this hugely significant error is already on the upswing: the first specimen, a Denver Mint specimen found in Chicago, closed for $612 on eBay last night, and at least one additional coin has sold for a $200 Buy-It-Now price. There are dozens of listings still open with bids topping out around $80 at this moment. I would caution my readers to hold off on paying very much for this error, because I think we are seeing the tip of the iceberg. Keep in mind that most Americans are not avid coin collectors, so the average person may not even be aware that missing edge lettering is an error, since we haven't had a circulation coin with edge lettering in decades! Therefore, there could literally be tens of thousands (or more) of these George Washington "no edge lettering" errors out there that people don't even realize are wrong!
One interesting speculation on my part is that I would expect we'll see Sacagawea Dollars that DO get edge lettering, and those will probably be rare and cool enough to be worth $80. I also expect that we'll have the usual assortment of cuds, double struck, off-centers, and other more "commonly" encountered mint errors on the Presidential Dollars. This reminds of the important point that only a tiny fraction of the 300 million coin mintage of GWs has even gotten out yet, and we've already seen thousands of missing edge lettering errors reported, so this error is not likely to be rare, although it will certainly be at least scarce.
Check out my list of all confirmed Presidential Dollar Edge Lettering Errors, which also includes a listing of all other reported errors (die cracks, etc.) This list also has important information about diagnosing edge letter errors. I believe that this serious "missing edge lettering" error, which omits the especially important date and mint mark, compares in legendary status to the 1955 doubled-die cent in importance. When the mainstream media pick up this story, the frenzy will perhaps be greater than anything we have seen in decades.
If you have some coins with no edge lettering that haven't been reported to me yet, (or other significant Presidential Dollar errors,) please post in the comments below, or email me at coins.guide@about.com about your find. Please tell me what city you got the coins in, whether they're from Philadelphia or Denver rolls (or bags) and how many you have (or have seen.) I'll post the reports in cumulative (but anonymous) form for everyone's benefit.
Missing Edge Lettering - No edge lettering was applied to the coin. Thousands of Philadelphia Mint specimens reported (some by bank tellers) in Florida; a few hundred coins from Denver known in Chicago. First coin (from Chicago) sold for $612 on eBay; current prices around $200, mostly from Florida.
Double Edge Lettering, Two Runs - Washington Dollar edge lettering appears twice, in two very clear sets of letters, side by side, as in "GGOODD WWEE TTRRUUSSTT." The coin was obviously run through the edge lettering machine twice, and the second run had such perfect placement that the first impression isn't even touched. No coins sold as of yet; appears extremely rare.
Double Edge Lettering, Coin Got Stuck - Edge lettering appears doubled or tripled in a small section where it seems to have gotten stuck in the edge lettering machine. eBay value around $40.
Broken Planchet - The planchet has a small piece broken off before burnishing process, which caused the otherwise normally struck coin to get stuck in the edge lettering machine. Lettering shows multiple times near break, then fades away. Extremely rare.
Extra and/or Out of Place Edge Letters - Similar to the non-errors mentioned above, but these are very clear extra letters of the proper size, some of which appear upside down to the main edge inscription. Maybe the coin went through the edge lettering machine twice, upside down the second time, which obliterated much of the first inscription. Selling for around $35 on eBay. (There is a non-error at nearly $200 though.)
Brief List of Non-Edge Lettering Related Presidential Dollar Errors
Unburnished Planchet - One specimen listed on eBay with photos; unconfirmed.
Die Clash - Two specimens on eBay, one with strong obverse and reverse clash marks! Very nice, but still unconfirmed except by the fact of sale listing photos.
Blank Planchet - One unconfirmed report to me via email.
Die Cracks - We have Speared Liberty and Wild Whiskers types so far on eBay, as well as some miscellany.
Minor Die Breaks - Typical breaks around letters; the first S in STATES is noted in several examples on eBay.
Struck Through Grease - One amazing (but still unconfirmed) report to me via email of a fingerprint struck into the coin. Several other misc. reports.
All About the New Presidential Dollars http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/a/presidents_coin.htm
Presidential Dollars Photo Gallery http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/ig/Presidents-Dollar-Coin-Program/index.htm
First Ladies' Gold Coins Photo Gallery http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/ig/First-Ladies-Gold-Coins/index.htm
Error Coins and Die Varieties
Roller Marks or Adjustment Marks? A Photo Diagnostic http://coins.about.com/od/coingrading/ig/Roller-Marks-or-Adjustments-.--0m/index.htm
Does the U.S. Mint Intentionally Make Error Coins? http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/f/mint_errors_faq.htm
Learn About the Club for Error Coins Collectors http://coins.about.com/od/errorcoinsdievarieties/f/coneca_faq.htm
[
2007 MINT ERROR Washington Dollar Coins with Smooth Edge. It has NO Date, NO Motto and NO Mint Mark
2007 G. Washington gold Dollar coin w/ blank edges seems most coomon
No Gold Coating
Extra Curl (unverified if this is an error)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
excerp from http://coins.about.com/od/errorcoinsdievarieties/a/edge_lettering.htm
Washington Dollar Plain Edge Coins - FAQs
There are a lot of incorrect rumors going around about the plain edge George Washington Presidential Dollars. These are the new golden dollars with no lettering on the edge, also called "missing edge lettering" and "Godless dollars" (because IN GOD WE TRUST is among the missing inscriptions.) The hobby collectively seems to be settling on the term "plain edge" and so that is the term I will use for now.
In addition to rumors, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about what the numbers on the boxes the dollars are shipped in mean, where the coins were rolled, and other details. I did some research, and my findings are below.
Is it true the coins are being recalled by the Mint (or the Fed, or banks, etc.)?
No, the Director of Public Relations for the United States Mint has said that there will be no attempt to recall the coins. The Mint is investigating how the error occurred and hopes to solve the problem before further mintages of Presidential Dollars.
Are plain edge Presidential Dollars still being found in Florida?
Yes. I am still getting reports as of this morning. Looking at the map, these reports are coming from rural and out-of-the-way banks. I also had a report Thursday of plain edge coins found in Indiana, which adds a new state to the list, but the reporting person hasn't yet responded about which Mint his coins are from.
Were all of the coins rolled by the F.S. String & Son Company in Pennsylvania?
No. None of them were! F.S. String only makes the wrappers, which they sell to the company who actually does the coin rolling for the Fed.
Who rolled the coins, then? And how does the process work?
The coins are rolled by a company called Coinwrap, Inc. They roll the coins for the Federal Reserve Banks, or "Fed," which pick them up and store them until banks order them. Typically, banks with multiple branches have a central bank that order the coins from their regional Fed. The branches then order the coinage they need from their own central bank facility. The coins are all transported around, of course, by armored car services.
What do the numbers on the $1,000 (40 rolls) boxes mean? The CWI# is the lot number, right?
Wrong. There is no such thing as a "lot number" on these boxes. They are stamped with three pieces of information. (a) The CWI#, (b) the date they were rolled, and (c) an inspector code indicating who inspected the box to make sure all the rolls were wrapped properly and the count was correct. The CWI# stands for the Coinwrap, Inc. location that wrapped the coins. The CWI location number that rolled the plain edge Washington coins found in and around the Tallahassee area is 103. Therefore, the CWI#103 is NOT a lot number, but simply a location number that appears on every single box of coins, of any type, Presidential or otherwise, that leaves that facility.
Why did nearly all of the Philadelphia plain edge dollars end up at one Coinwrap location?
According to top-notch error coin expert and leading error coin dealer Fred Weinberg, the Sacagawea and Presidential Dollars leave the U.S. Mint in huge containers called "ballistic bags," which hold 140,000 dollars in each bag. According to a Coinwrap employee (who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to reveal confidential company information) two of these ballistic bags of dollars are generally allocated to each coin-wrapping station. Therefore, it would seem that one or more of these ballistic bags was somehow filled, totally or partially, with unfinished coins at the Mint. (The edge lettering process is the final step before the Mint fills the ballistic bags for shipment out for individual wrapping.) Some experts believe that a batch of coins simply missed the edge lettering station altogether, but I am still holding to my theory that the Philadelphia plain edge coins were caused by some kind of mis-alignment of the edge lettering segment (as this machine is properly called, according to Eric von Klinger at Coin World magazine.) In my theory, due to mis-alignment of the edge lettering machinery, some of the coins missed the edge lettering segment die altogether, while others got their edges literally sheared off by something in the process, leaving them without edge lettering. I might or might not be correct, remember, this is just my theory.
If I want to buy unopened rolls on eBay to try to find my own plain edge dollars, and this CWI# isn't a lot number that might contain the error coins, is there any way to increase my chances?
If you see auctions for rolls that are from the correct Coinwrap, Inc. location, you might improve your chances by buying coins that were rolled at this facility on the same date, but there is a lot of fraud in the rolled coins selling business. It isn't very hard to unwrap these F.S. String wrappers, check the coins, replace the plain edges with normal coins, and roll them back up again. One coin dealer actually told me he'd been doing this for years! If you really want one of these coins, (or ten of them) why not just buy them outright on eBay? The price has dropped to around $50 to $80 per coin, so if you're going to pay $50 plus for a roll hoping to find one, why not spend the same amount of money for a guaranteed plain edge?
Are you recommending that I buy these coins on eBay?
Absolutely not! I very rarely recommend that people buy coins from any source other than reputable and honest coin dealers who are PNG members. If there are no PNG dealers in your area (although most have Web sites now and sell through the mail) you can buy from an ANA dealer. The reason you want to use dealers affiliated with these organizations is that you have some recourse if they sell you fake or mis-graded material (they would lose their valuable affiliations!)
Are fake plain edge Washington Dollars being sold on eBay?
Yes. I will have more information about how to authenticate a genuine plain edge dollar as soon as I have a few more study coins in my hands and can make confident statements in this regard. Please don't buy your coins on eBay; find a reputable PNG dealer. It's worth the extra money they charge to know you won't be ripped off.
Who gets credit for the "discovery coin," (in other words, who found the first plain edge coin and made it publicly known?)
It is abundantly clear that a man who goes by the moniker "Chicago Ron" was the first to discover and appreciate this plain edge error. Not only did he list the first auction (which closed for $612) Feb. 15th, (the release date of the Presidential Dollar,) he is the anonymous collector referred to on the front page of the current issue of the Numismatic News, where coin dealer Bob Feiler tells about the person in Arizona who says a friend of his had found a plain edge Presidential dollar. I will post a Collector Profile of this fascinating individual in the next couple of weeks. In the mean time, I find it beautifully ironic that the discovery coin comes from the Denver Mint, while the overwhelming vast majority of the plain edge errors come from Philly.
Is there any way to tell the difference between Denver plain edge GW dollars, and Philadelphia ones?
I don't know yet. Denver examples are extremely rare compared to Philly examples, and until I can study a few specimens from both mints, I can't say for sure. However, I am currently recommending that people who have found plain edge Washington dollars in Denver rolls hold onto them until this issue has been decided, because if we can tell the difference, Denver coins will be worth a lot more money.
I would like to thank Tom DeLorey of Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. for the many hours of his time spent teaching me about the errors on these Presidential coins, and coin errors in general. Fred Weinberg, widely acknowledged as the leading dealer and an important expert in mechanical type coin errors (as opposed to die variety "errors,") was very generous with his time and expertise in helping me understand the processes the Mint uses and how mechanical errors happen. Eric von Klinger, of Coin World magazine, has also been very generous with his time, knowledge, and experience while researching this error.
Photo of the stacks and stacks of plain edge Washington Presidential Dollars courtesy of a Tallahassee resident who wishes to remain anonymous. All photo rights reserved.
Saturday March 3, 2007 | permalink | comments (11)
U. S. Mint Issues Statement Regarding Plain Edge Presidential Dollar Errors
The U.S. Mint has issued a statement regarding the plain edge (missing edge lettering) George Washington Presidential Dollars. Unfortunately, the statement doesn't tell us much, but I will quote what has been given:
"A Statement from the United States Mint
The United States Mint has struck more than 300 million George Washington Presidential $1 Coins. We have recently learned that an unspecified quantity of these coins inadvertently left the United States Mint at Philadelphia without edge-lettering on them. It is unknown how many of these coins without inscriptions on the edge have been placed into circulation.
The United States Mint understands the importance of the inscriptions “In God We Trust” and “E Pluribus Unum,” as well as the mint mark and year on U.S. coinage. We take this matter seriously. We also consider quality control a high priority. The agency is looking into the matter to determine a possible cause in the manufacturing process.
Production of the Presidential $1 Coin, with its unique edge-lettering, is a new, complex, high volume manufacturing system, and the United States Mint is determined to make technical adjustments to perfect the process. As we adjust this new process, we intend to eliminate any such defects.
Consistent with the agency’s practice in such situations, the United States Mint has informed the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Treasury about this matter."
The statement sounds almost defensive, as if people are criticizing the Mint because it failed to put certain mottos and things on the coins (and maybe some people are, but I haven't heard about it if they have.) The statement also fails to acknowledge the small number of plain edge coins found from the Denver Mint in the Chicago area, which have been confirmed, and a few scattered Denver reports that are still unconfirmed as far as I know.
One thing that most coin collectors don't realize is the Mint's perspective on these things. Like all people who do a job or produce a product, they take pride in what they do, and want to produce a high-quality product that is as perfect as possible. When these large scale error events happen, while collectors are clamoring for an explanation, people at the Mint are embarrassed about these errors. While collectors may relish a juicy new unexpected variety, the Mint may feel humiliated that this happened, and I believe that is why we see statements like this.
I have a theory about how the plain edge errors happened. I think that a mis-alignment of the edge lettering device caused the coins to slowly "pull away" from the die, eventually not even touching them at all. Whether the problem is caused by vibration during the lettering process (where the coins roll through a groove-like "die" that impresses the edge inscriptions,) or whether human error, such as the machine operators failing to attend to the machine properly, the end result, in my thinking, is that the coins got further and further from the die, eventually leaving a batch of them with a very faint and/or no inscription.
This point about the very faint inscription is an important one. Most Americans don't examine their coins with high-power magnification, and so what appears, to their untrained naked eye as a plain edge, is turning out in some cases to be a very faint inscription. I have seen photos, and heard verbal reports from people who have these coins, that there are many specimens where the naked eye sees a plain edge, but the 10 power magnifier or the enlarged digital photo image shows a faint inscription. Ebay buyers beware!
I am currently working to compile a comprehensive report about all of the reported errors so far, including photos from folks who have been extremely generous in taking the time to make images showing their interesting finds, and I hope to have this information posted within a couple of days. In the mean time, if you find a George Washington Dollar error, please report it in the Comment section below, or email me at coins.guide@about.com.
Coin discovery & photo by Shawn Bell of bigbuckbell auctions.
Tuesday February 27, 2007 | permalink | comments (15)
Major Presidential Dollar Error - No Edge Lettering!
Update: See my list of known Presidential Dollar Edge Lettering Errors!
A major Presidential Dollar error has emerged! Coins with no edge lettering are showing up in two key locations; so far the majority of the "no edge lettering" error coins seem to be out of the Jacksonville Fed, (thousands of error dollar coins reported,) but I have reports of hundreds of error coins from the Chicago area, too. The Florida coins are from the Philadelphia Mint, while the Chicago coins are from the Denver Mint. There are sporadic (but unconfirmed) reports of this error showing up in other cities, too. (Please note that this is a correction from an earlier edition of this post that stated ALL missing edge lettering errors were from Philadelphia. This was a misunderstanding on my part engendered by the fact that a company in Pennsylvania wrapped all of the coins for the Fed.)
I want to reiterate that coins with the edge inscriptions written upside-down are not errors! The edge inscriptions are being applied randomly on circulation strike coins (but should always be right-side up on Proofs.)
The frenzy over this hugely significant error is already on the upswing: the first specimen, a Denver Mint specimen found in Chicago, closed for $612 on eBay last night, and at least one additional coin has sold for a $200 Buy-It-Now price. There are dozens of listings still open with bids topping out around $80 at this moment. I would caution my readers to hold off on paying very much for this error, because I think we are seeing the tip of the iceberg. Keep in mind that most Americans are not avid coin collectors, so the average person may not even be aware that missing edge lettering is an error, since we haven't had a circulation coin with edge lettering in decades! Therefore, there could literally be tens of thousands (or more) of these George Washington "no edge lettering" errors out there that people don't even realize are wrong!
One interesting speculation on my part is that I would expect we'll see Sacagawea Dollars that DO get edge lettering, and those will probably be rare and cool enough to be worth $80. I also expect that we'll have the usual assortment of cuds, double struck, off-centers, and other more "commonly" encountered mint errors on the Presidential Dollars. This reminds of the important point that only a tiny fraction of the 300 million coin mintage of GWs has even gotten out yet, and we've already seen thousands of missing edge lettering errors reported, so this error is not likely to be rare, although it will certainly be at least scarce.
Check out my list of all confirmed Presidential Dollar Edge Lettering Errors, which also includes a listing of all other reported errors (die cracks, etc.) This list also has important information about diagnosing edge letter errors. I believe that this serious "missing edge lettering" error, which omits the especially important date and mint mark, compares in legendary status to the 1955 doubled-die cent in importance. When the mainstream media pick up this story, the frenzy will perhaps be greater than anything we have seen in decades.
If you have some coins with no edge lettering that haven't been reported to me yet, (or other significant Presidential Dollar errors,) please post in the comments below, or email me at coins.guide@about.com about your find. Please tell me what city you got the coins in, whether they're from Philadelphia or Denver rolls (or bags) and how many you have (or have seen.) I'll post the reports in cumulative (but anonymous) form for everyone's benefit.
Missing Edge Lettering - No edge lettering was applied to the coin. Thousands of Philadelphia Mint specimens reported (some by bank tellers) in Florida; a few hundred coins from Denver known in Chicago. First coin (from Chicago) sold for $612 on eBay; current prices around $200, mostly from Florida.
Double Edge Lettering, Two Runs - Washington Dollar edge lettering appears twice, in two very clear sets of letters, side by side, as in "GGOODD WWEE TTRRUUSSTT." The coin was obviously run through the edge lettering machine twice, and the second run had such perfect placement that the first impression isn't even touched. No coins sold as of yet; appears extremely rare.
Double Edge Lettering, Coin Got Stuck - Edge lettering appears doubled or tripled in a small section where it seems to have gotten stuck in the edge lettering machine. eBay value around $40.
Broken Planchet - The planchet has a small piece broken off before burnishing process, which caused the otherwise normally struck coin to get stuck in the edge lettering machine. Lettering shows multiple times near break, then fades away. Extremely rare.
Extra and/or Out of Place Edge Letters - Similar to the non-errors mentioned above, but these are very clear extra letters of the proper size, some of which appear upside down to the main edge inscription. Maybe the coin went through the edge lettering machine twice, upside down the second time, which obliterated much of the first inscription. Selling for around $35 on eBay. (There is a non-error at nearly $200 though.)
Brief List of Non-Edge Lettering Related Presidential Dollar Errors
Unburnished Planchet - One specimen listed on eBay with photos; unconfirmed.
Die Clash - Two specimens on eBay, one with strong obverse and reverse clash marks! Very nice, but still unconfirmed except by the fact of sale listing photos.
Blank Planchet - One unconfirmed report to me via email.
Die Cracks - We have Speared Liberty and Wild Whiskers types so far on eBay, as well as some miscellany.
Minor Die Breaks - Typical breaks around letters; the first S in STATES is noted in several examples on eBay.
Struck Through Grease - One amazing (but still unconfirmed) report to me via email of a fingerprint struck into the coin. Several other misc. reports.
All About the New Presidential Dollars http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/a/presidents_coin.htm
Presidential Dollars Photo Gallery http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/ig/Presidents-Dollar-Coin-Program/index.htm
First Ladies' Gold Coins Photo Gallery http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/ig/First-Ladies-Gold-Coins/index.htm
Error Coins and Die Varieties
Roller Marks or Adjustment Marks? A Photo Diagnostic http://coins.about.com/od/coingrading/ig/Roller-Marks-or-Adjustments-.--0m/index.htm
Does the U.S. Mint Intentionally Make Error Coins? http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/f/mint_errors_faq.htm
Learn About the Club for Error Coins Collectors http://coins.about.com/od/errorcoinsdievarieties/f/coneca_faq.htm
[
Upvote
0
