Expert: Ronald Fern - 11/15/2009

Question
QUESTION: i have 1999 dime with a penny pressed into the center visible from both sides, i know its a penny in the center because you can see the building on the back clearly not crushed at all its hard to see the face on the penny but the coin is in brilliant condition i was wondering a est value or type of name or term for finding out more about this coin. i also have a double sided penny but the difference is  on side is dated clearly 1942 and the other 1944 but one side seems to have some silver or nickel splashed on it like a couple drops of hot metal. any info would be helpful thankyou

ANSWER: Hi Kyle:

I'm guessing what you may have is a double denomination error, a cent struck over a struck dime. It's tough to tell without actually seeing the coin or a photo. This effect could be attempted by pressing a cent and dime together in a vise, but the cent's image would be incuse, or struck inwards and reversed. The coin would likely be a little out of round where it was not in the die chamber.

Your coin should weigh the same as a dime. If real, the cent image should be stronger than the dime, where it was struck over the dime. This is the only way it can happen, as a cent coin can not fit in a dime die chamber for striking where it is larger.

Your coin should be authenticated professionally. The value of your error, if real, could be would have a retail value of about $500 to $1500, depending on date, condition, and strike. You may want to check the eBay error listings under US coins to get an idea of what these are going for.

Your second "oddity" (two dates, 1942, 1944) was likely made outside the mint by taking 2 normal cents and grinding them down, then gluing them together. If you drop this coin on a glass surface (table top), it should make a dull sound compared to a regular two sided cent. The mint destroys the dies it uses each year. There is no way two different years can be on the same coin. The reverse dies are different sizes than the obverse, so no two obverse dies can be used to strike a coin. It is an interesting conversation piece, but has no added value to an error collector.

There are a number of different things done to coins to try and fool people into thinking they have a valuable error. Here's a site for you to view with some examples: http://conecaonline.org/content/OhNo.htm


Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.


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QUESTION: http://www.yousaytoo.com/gallery_image/pic/45317/original/remote_image.30063.0.j  
this pic is not of my coin but similar but the outer being a dime and inner being a penny but the dime part is nickel and the penny being copper not all the same color is there a way to fake something like this ? as to the penny i think you're right because i noticed some type of metal on the 1944 side of the penny . it looks like a drop of molting metal splattered on it and cooled of like you were to drop a drip of solder is there any way this could ever be real? also because your so helpful i also have a type 2 Sacajawea dollar blank planchet i think it real because it has a raised edge wondering it est value http://z.about.com/d/coins/1/G/M/3/-/-/blank_coin_200.jpg
it looks just like the pic but i would say its in better condition almost no scratches - also a 1971 D clip dime with a large piece connected with a partial imprint in it a lot like this http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/3291758494_3a9d1c70a9.jpg?v=0 and another but the date is cut off

thanks for the help

ANSWER: Hi Again Kyle:

I viewed your photos. Based on your description, along with the photos, I offer the added insight:

Your cent and dime combination is an alteration. The U.S. does not make bi-metal coins. Someone outside the mint cut down a regular cent to a smaller size and removed the center portion of a dime. They then put the cent into the dime and pressed them together. This was done after the coins left the mint. An interesting conversation piece, but of no numismatic value.

The blank dollar planchet should weigh the same as a struck Sacajawea coin. It should be slightly smaller in diameter to allow it to fit in the retaining collar when the dies come together during the striking. It has a retail value of about $50 to $65 to an interested error collector.

I'm a little confussed on the last item. The photo you supplied is a double struck dime, yet you describe a clip along with a similar coin. Is it a double strike with a clip? That would have a retail value of about $35 to $50 depending on condition, size of the clip, and the double strike.

You might want to view this link on error coins and their values: http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:http://minterrornews.com/priceguide.html

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.



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QUESTION: http://www.minterrornews.com/priceguidematedpairsimage.gif it resembles this but the penny is visible thru both sides and dont seem to be hit with the same die if i had a "mated pair" would the smaller coin be visible thru the  other side thanks for youre help

Answer
OK Kyle:

A mated pair is a different type of animal. The photo you referenced is a blank cent that somehow got into the die chamber along with a half dollar blank, in this case, on top of the fifty cent planchet. When the dies struck the blanks, the cent planchet was pushed into the half blank and "bonded" by the force. It does not show on the reverse, which appears "normal". Your cent is larger than a dime blank, so this combination could not happen. If you reversed it, with a dime blank on top of a cent blank, when cents were being struck, that could happen, but you'd have a dime "bonded" into a cent blank, with most of the obverse surface being the dime. The reverse would only show the cent. Hope I've explained it so you could understand.

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.