In the earliest years of the Mint, dime and quarter eagle reverse dies were used on each denomination–apparently a conscious decision. The planchet sizes were close, 19 mm for the dimes and 20 mm for the quarter eagles.

The diameter of each denomination was later reduced when new machinery was introduced. The dime’s diameter was reduced to 18.5 mm beginning in 1809, and the quarter eagle to 18.2 mm in 1829.

It is not a stretch to imagine the Mint striking a batch of dimes with a few unstruck planchets remaining in the hopper, then striking a run of quarter eagles, a couple of which were struck on leftover dime planchets. Only 0.3 mm separated the size of the two planchets, an imperceptible difference to the casual inspector.

What happened next is fairly obvious: nothing. This piece entered the channels of commerce and circulated as a dime for many years. Only recently and after 54 points of wear did someone notice that the design was inconsistent with that of an 1831 dime. This piece was found in a bag of silver in North Texas, in May of this year.

It is always interesting to scan the “Found in Rolls” column in Coin World. Foreign coins, tokens, silver coins are constantly found in rolls. But an 1831 quarter eagle struck on a dime planchet in a bag of silver?

This is the second example of this off-metal striking that is known. The other piece is high-grade and has a distinguished pedigree including Brand, Opezzo, Farouk, Judd, and Sloss. It has been off the market since 1974, when it was traded privately, then it was withdrawn from the 1979 ANA Sale. Over the years that piece has been listed and delisted as a possible pattern. (more…)

A new variety of the proof 1938 Jefferson nickel has been announced by Michael S. Fey, Ironia, N.J.

The coin has a serif at the lower end of the “S” in TRUST as compared to no serif on the previously known examples.

Fey made the announcement after researching the coin first shown to him by an unidentified collector Dec. 1, 2007, at the Bay State show in Boston.

“I never forgot the collector, or the two 1938 proof Jefferson nickels that he showed me. When I found the differences he pointed out to me on two coins in my inventory, I decided it was too important a discovery not to pursue further.”

There were several other differences in the look and thickness of the serifs and on the numerals in the date to make me believe that this was significant enough to seek other expert opinions, Fey said.

“After comparing these 1938 proof coins to business strikes of 1938 and 1939 nickels, my first thought was that the coin without the extra serif on the ‘S’ was more closely related to an obverse of 1938, and that the one with the extra serif was more closely related to an obverse of 1939″

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An amazing Braided Hair large cent struck on a half cent planchet will be making its first public auction appearance at Heritage’s 2008 Baltimore ANA Signature® Auction. The coin has been consigned by a very private Northwest family whose members were unaware of its rarity or significance. The newly discovered rarity will be sold July 30-August 2, 2008, and the lot listing will be available online at HA.com during early July.

“In more than three decades as a numismatist,” commented Heritage’s Senior Numismatist Mark Borckardt, “and after having examined tens of thousands of large cents, I have Never seen a similar error. As soon as I spotted this amazing error coin, I gathered all of the senior numismatists, and none of them could recall a similar piece. When they heard that the coin had sat on the front porch of a house for fifty years in a Mason jar – along with a bunch of other old coins in cans and jars – they were equally astounded! It quickens all of our hearts to imagine that there are still major rarities out there waiting to be discovered!”

Bob Merrill, the former Director of Heritage’s numismatic auctions, discovered the coin while visiting the consignors. “When I pulled the coin out of the Mason jar, I knew that it was fairly unusual, but my attention was rather distracted by the 1794 dollar that came tumbling out behind it. Amazingly, our staff experts in Dallas were able to find a pedigree for the 1794 dollar from 1914!

The Braided Hair large cent error is sized midway between a large cent and a half cent; without an immediate restraining collar, the half cent flan expanded well beyond its normal diameter during striking. Heritage’s experts in Dallas required extra time to examine the error, so it was not included with the rest of the Northwest Collection in the May 2008 Signature Auction.” (more…)