Expert: PAPAJACK - 4/16/2008

Question
QUESTION: i just got 5 gold dollar coins from the post office and as i was looking at the edges of them where the "in god we trust" is written.and on 4 of them if i'm looking at the letters w/the right-side up the heads side is on the top and tails is on the underside but the other is reversed tails on top, and heads on the bottom. is this considered a misprint or not?

ANSWER: Hello Lorretta,          

The US mint has no definite direction of what side is the right direction for printing the circulated dollar coins. Many are found with the edge inscriptions facing heads and tails. I found no added value for this condition.
Collectors consider this mishap a variety not an error. Since there is a fifty-fifty chance of which way is up they are both the same value.
Some dealers are getting the coins and selling them for outrageous prices but their value is questionable since there are probably millions out there.

There are also reports of the edge lettering missing altogether. As for value if the edge is not inscribed depends on how much you can sell them for. They seem to be a common item and I think the market does not consider it a true error coin but merely missing an operation in the minting process. These are more collectable to error collectors than ones with the edge lettering inverted.

The price surge you see when something is first discovered is not always an indicator of the true value but only speculation by people. If you are looking to sell them go to a coin shop soon I do not think it will be more valuable next year.

Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack

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

QUESTION: well how about a Washington quarter with 2 heads, now i know its not a misprint, since one side is from 1988D and the other is 1992P. but is it of any value it nicely made you can barely see the seam on one side.

Answer
Hello,          

These trick coins have no value except as a novelty no matter hoe well made they may be.

All the ones I have come across are machined out on one side, while an identical coin is thinned and slightly reduced in diameter. The smaller and thinner half is then placed in the hollowed out half coin.
This coin is sometimes made as a novelty to sell or to fool people on a coin toss or a machinist apprentice practicing his trade. I have also heard of them being sawed in halves and glued together.

They may sell for .50 cents and up to $2 dollars in a shop. Again they are not rare, and are not in demand by coin collectors.

I hope this information is helpful.

Feel free to ask another question about US Coins.

Good Luck

PapaJack