A couple of sharp-eyed collectors have discovered a mule error in the Royal Canadian Mint’s 2007 sets.

The error coin couples the wheelchair curling 25-cent piece reverse with the Queen Elizabeth II obverse sporting the Olympic logo. The wheelchair curling coins are supposed to have the Paralympic logo on the obverse.

Both Leo Wagenaar of B.C., and Kevin Mosher of Quebec, purchased their Special Edition Uncirculated Coin Sets directly from the Mint. The sets contain the circulating 1-, 5-, 10- and 50-cent coins, the loonie and toonie, plus the five Olympic 25-cent coins for 2007 (hockey, wheelchair curling, biathlon, curling and downhill skiing).

After his discovery in early August, Wagenaar, who was the first to contact CCN about the error, went on a hunt for more errors, combing post offices and coin shops in Vancouver’s lower mainland area. After searching for several weeks, and ordering more sets from the Mint, he had found seven sets containing the mule, among about 300 he looked at. Read Full Article

OTTAWA, Oct. 26 /CNW Telbec/ - The Royal Canadian Mint confirms that a small number of 25-cent alpine skiing coins produced for collector products issued on October 24, 2007 bear a 2008 date on the obverse, or “heads” side of the coin, rather than the 2007 date. This error is limited to alpine skiing coin sports cards sold exclusively at participating Petro-Canada outlets and a small quantity of Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games coin collections. The 22 million 25-cent alpine skiing coins produced for circulation are not affected.

The Mint is currently investigating the source of this error and will implement the appropriate measures to ensure it does not occur in the future. (more…)

Yes, you can still find valuable coins. Professional Coin Grading Service has certified a recently discovered modern rarity, a 1969 San Francisco Mint doubled die obverse Lincoln Cent. It’s graded PCGS Mint State 64 Red and tied for the finest known!

The coin was discovered by Michigan collector, Michael Tremonti, who was examining two rolls of uncirculated 1969-S cents on October 3. After consulting with well-known error-variety expert, Ken Potter, Tremonti submitted the coin to PCGS.

“I was totally amazed that this coin could turn up out of nowhere. The coin is completely original and full mint red. It’s a beautiful near-Gem example,” said David Hall, PCGS co-founder and president of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT). “What an incredible find! This could be a six-figure coin.”

Including this latest discovery piece, the PCGS Population Report indicates only 23 1969-S doubled die cents from Very Fine to MS-64, and only two are graded Mint State Red.

The coin discovered by Tremonti has strong doubling on the obverse in the date, 1969, and the words, LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. It’s described by Potter as “a Class I Rotated Hub with counter-clockwise doubling.”

A1969-S doubled die cent, graded PCGS MS-64 Red Brown was sold for $85,100 in the Bowers and Merena Auctions sale in August. The Tremonti coin is full red, tied for finest known with one other MS-64 Red, and with no higher grade examples in the PCGS Population Report. (more…)

(Newport Beach, California) – Would a damaged dollar be worth only 96.5 cents if 3.5 percent of it is missing? When it’s a clipped planchet error it’s worth more than a buck.

Professional Coin Grading Service has certified two of the recently-released 2007-D Thomas Jefferson dollar coins with nearly identically-located 3.5 percent, semi-circular planchet clips.

“Both coins were discovered in a government-sealed ‘first day of issue’ box as part of a bulk submission sent in by someone who wants to remain anonymous. The graders were surprised to find not one, but two Jefferson dollars with curved planchet clips along the top left edge of the coins when viewed from Jefferson’s portrait,” said Ron Guth, PCGS President.

One coin was graded PCGS MS-66, the other was MS-67.

A clipped planchet, also known as an incomplete planchet error, occurs during the minting process when the coin blank (planchet) is not correctly punched out from a strip of metal. The clip can be curved or straight depending on where it occurred on the strip. In some cases, a planchet clip also can be caused when a struck coin is not properly ejected from the coining press. (more…)

The U. S. Mint’s American Eagle gold bullion coin program debuted in 1986, and this called for the creation of several new collar sizes for the four-piece line-up. There was bound to be some trial and error as a result, yet the number of mint error coins actually escaping careful inspection at the mints has remained extremely small for the American Eagle series.

This amazing gold one-ounce coin dated MCMLXXXVI (1986) is just such an error, a coin struck almost entirely out of the collar. In fact, just a trace of the collar’s reeding is visible along the reverse rim. Both sides reveal tripled images of all peripheral elements, as a consequence of the coin’s unrestrained expansion between strikes.