NUMBER 2. A wildly misstruck U.S. nickel. Collecting errors is a popular and well developed branch of numismatics in the U.S., probably bacause there are plenty of American errors to collect, especially one and five cent pieces, which are available quite cheaply. Dated examples attract a premium over undated specimens such as this. There are several other countries which also must have issues with quality control and or waste disposal, such as India, Mexico, Pakistan, Israel, with error coins from these countries being relatively common.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Great Britain 1861 Off Centre Halfpenny
NUMBER 1. To kick things off we have a British half penny from 1861. These bronze coins were introduced in 1860 to replace the larger and heavier copper issues. The farthings, halfpennies and pennies of this type are known as the "bun head" issue, and with numerous die variations are popular with collectors. They were issued until 1894, and in 1895 the "veiled head" or "old head" versions were issued, at which time the Brittannia reverse was also modified. This off centre strike also has a die crack running through the R of VICTORIA. The next few weeks or so will also feature some off centre mistrikes.
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