Expert: Joe Hylas - 2/21/2006

Question
Mr. Hylas,

I am a cashier in a grocery store and the other day I opened a roll of pennies from the bank.  One of the pennies was printed on the front as usual, but there was no back.  The penny looks almost like a "bottle cap" as it's basically just the front and side edges.  The penny was minted in 1982 and my husband and I were wondering if it was worth anything or if we just have a novelty item on our hands.

Thank you,
Christine

Answer
Hi Christine,

When a coin is minted, the coin blank (planchet) is struck simultaneously by the front and back dies.  It is impossible for an error such as the one you describe to be the result of the minting process.  Chances are that someone polished the back off the coin to use as a novelty piece.
In the 1800's it was common for someone to take a silver coin, polish the details off the back and then re-engrave it with the intials of a loved one.  These became known as love tokens.  I have not seen your piece but it has all the makings of a love token in progress.
Keep it as a good luck charm!

Regards
Joe Hylas