Expert: Ronald Fern - 9/13/2010

Question
QUESTION: my wife has found a copper penny with Lincoln head on both sides of the coin. can this be a possible mint error? have you ever heard of such .

ANSWER: Hi Sam:

Thanks for your question.

Double headed and double tailed coins are called magician's coins and are made by machining and joining parts from two real coins. They have no added numismatic value but are sold by novelty shops for $5 to $10 and are available on eBay for $2 to $3.

It is impossible for a coin to have two heads, or tails, as the obverse and reverse dies and there corresponding alignment features are different sizes. It is also impossible for coins to have two different dates, as the dies are destroyed by the mint after use each year.

If you have a magnifying glass, look closely at either the inside of the rim on one side of the coin, or the edge. The "magic pieces" are parts of two separate coins that have been cut up and glued or bonded together.

You coin will make a different sound when dropped on a glass surface (table top).
A true coin will have a "ring" to it, where the magic coin, being two pieces, will make a dull sound.

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Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.

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

QUESTION: the two headed lincoln penny i am refering to has the 1940 date on both sides

Answer
Sam:

Sometimes questions get asked about two-headed coins with different dates. It is possible for a coin to have two heads with the same date, but one of the images would have to be a mirror image, or reversed, and struck into the coin surface, rather than raised, like a normal coin.

This error is called a full brockage, and happens when a struck cent sticks to the lower die. The next blank entering the die chamber gets a normal strike from the obverse die, but the reverse strike of the stuck cent, which is reversed and struck into the blank. You did not say that was what you had, so I did not mention it. This error, if real, could be worth $75 to $100. Some examples are manmade by squeezing two coins together in a vise. Hope this helps to clarify my previous answer.

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

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.