Many people don't really bother to even took at their change after a transaction. It's just a few coins and people tend to toss them into a change dish or a bottle and forget about it. And to be completely honest with cashless transactions many of us are seeing less and less change. However, it's always wise to check your change carefully. You never know when you may find a very valuable coin worth far more than the coins themselves.
Several years ago I bought a coin from a coin shop that had come from Australia. It was located in the discount bin that the owner was trying to clear out, so it was 50% off. What caught my eye about the coin is that something was wrong with it, which many times in coins can be a bad thing. But in this case not so bad. Have a look:
I'm sure you saw it, but just in case:
It's even easier to see what happened on the front:
This coin was struck twice, the second one just catching the edge. These are known as error coins and can have significant value if you know what you are looking at.
About the coin:
numista.com
While the coin itself only contains 50% silver and isn't worth much by itself, maybe $2-3, what gives it some extra value is the double stamp error. In this coin it happens to be fairly small, and so it might add a few dollars to it's value depending on how many of these error coins managed to sneak past quality control. Most errors are found at the mint itself and sent back to be melted and reprocessed into a proper coin.
When mints are producing more than 20 million of a particular coin as in the case of this 3 Pence, errors will occasionally get missed and sent out for use. These coins will be found occasionally in your change and are always worth more than just face value. Many coin collectors only collect error coins and the bigger the error the more they will pay!
Error Coins
For some examples today I'll start off with some pennies from the United States. This coin has as of this year officially gone the way of the dodo bird, and will no longer be produced. A change that has been needed for years as it costs way more that $0.01 to produce them. Each year hundreds of millions of these were produced, and errors did happen. With that kind of volume not all of the mistakes are caught and make it out into circulation. Over the years I have found many error pennies and would always keep them.
The first example I'm sharing today comes from a coin grading web site as they often have some of the best examples of these coins. In 1955 a misalignment of the striking left doubled wording and dates. These are referred to as double die coins. How likely are you to find one of these in your change today? Because of it's age not too likely, but there may be some floating around still. A penny with this error and in good condition it could be worth in excess of $2,500!
ngccoin.com
Now for another error coin that is extremely rare, and I wish I had one! In 1969 the San Francisco Mint had the same issue happen, just less notable. You can see below the doubling in the date and the mint mark. If you happen to find one of these you could be $20,000 richer! They are very rare, but there may still be some floating around in change.
ngccoin.com
A year or two ago
@silverd510 found one of these coins in his pocket change. In 1972 they once again had some double die errors slip out of the mint. There are still some of these floating around they are worth much more than just a penny. One in good condition can bring in more than $300, all depending on condition.
ngccoin.com
And now for something truly ugly that slipped past quality control. On occasion extreme errors like the one below somehow make it out into circulation. These extreme errors can get top dollar from the right collector. I couldn't find a sale price on this one, but it is pretty impressive how something stamped multiple times managed to be missed at quality control!
storage.googleapis.com
Now back to Australia with another error coin, this is called a clipped planchet error where a part of the coin is cut off during production. The also well carry a premium from error coin collectors, and the bigger the error the more they will pay!
pinterest.com
Taking a few minutes to check your change could really pay off!
Leo Power Up Day
And I very nearly forgot it is Leo Power Up Day, so I went ahead and powered up the LEO I had liquid, all 164 and change. Not too bad! Don't forget to do your LEO power up, they do provide some nice prizes to a few lucky participants. You might get lucky!
That will wrap up my post for today. I hoped you enjoyed the error coins, I always find fascinating! Remember to always check you change because one of those coins could be worth a fortune! Thanks for taking the time to read my post and thank you for all of your support everyone, it's greatly appreciated. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Have a great day everyone!
References:
Disclaimer:
I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!
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