Expert: PAPAJACK - 8/15/2007

Question
QUESTION: I have a 1989 (I believe it is 1989, all that is printed is the "89") standard nickel.
The portions of the coin that are printed are:
FRONT - Lower portion of the Jefferson bust; left of bust is the "L" in Liberty in line with the outer edge of coin; right of bust is "P" in line with the bust and "89" in line with the outer edge of the coin.
BACK - The top portion of Monticello but not centered.  It is showing more of the right side of the building and the words "E PLURIBUS UNUM" in line with the outer edge of the coin.
A good deal of the coin is blank.
Could you tell me if this is a real misprint and if it is, what it is worth, if anything.
Thank you in advance for you knowledge and assistance.
Maria

ANSWER: Hello Maria,          

If the coin is round and has a raised rim on the edge there are a couple of things that it could be.

Without seeing this it’s hard to say. The blank could be undersize in thickness and it would cause the image to be off as you describe.

Struck through grease or filled die error;
This coin exhibits weak or missing design elements due to the die being clogged with a combination of grease, dirt, and iron filings. There is a rough surface where the design element is missing. Since it is relatively easy to fake this error, only uncirculated coins are considered collectible. This is the most common of all struck through errors

Off center struck coin,
When the collar is jammed in the fully downward position and the planchet fails to be centered between the dies, the result is an off-center strike. The only difference between an uncentered broadstrike and an off-center strike is the degree of off-centeredness. If any portion of the design is missing, it is an off-center strike. Most collector demand for this error is in the 35-65% off-center range. Lesser percentages are acceptable for rarer dates, but larger percentages are usually ignored by the knowledgeable collector.

There is no set price list for error coins. But they sell to error collectors who decide what they will pay for them, not coin collectors.  For these errors it will be less than five dollars.  
It would have to be seen by a coin dealer to decide how it may have happened.  
If you want give me the nearest large Cities, some postal zip codes and telephone area codes I will refer you to an expert in your area.

Please remember to rate this answer at the bottom of this page. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I would really like you to see this coin, but I don't know how I can do that.  I have sent a question to tech support to see if this is possible.
I believe this is a Off-center strike because a good deal of the design is not there.
Let me see what tech support has to say and then maybe I can get a picture through.
Thanks for the answer and info...
Maria

Answer
Hello Maria,          

I am happy to take a look at the coin.
If the coin is an off-center-strike there will be a crescent shape blank area to one edge on both sides of the coin. The rest of the image is kind of well defined. They sell for around $5 to error collectors. Your normal coin collector does not always pay top price for these.
If your coin does not exhibit these features you can send a picture of both sides to coins@writeme.com. I will examine them and write you back

Please remember to rate this answer at the bottom of this page. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack