Thanks

It was great seeing you all at the auction on Monday. I am also super glad it went off w/o any major technical issues. More fun posts next week. This week was all about getting the auction done and all the paperwork...

Stamp Sheets

SHEETS OF STAMPS? REALLY? Yes, Virginia, for a long time, stamps in the US were only sold in coils and sheets. If you wanted to buy just one stamp, the Post Master would just rip off the number of stamps you wanted from the sheet. The sheets were normally in groups of...

Pattern coins……so much for change

The Old Standby Ever think that US money is kind of boring? Go on, admit it, you know it is. It is almost like there is a formula for our coins today. Old dead white dude on the obverse, American iconic image on the reverse. For the coins in our pocket, it is almost...

Hub & Die Errors

OK last massive post on errors, at least for now. We have talked about what errors happen in the preparation and striking process, so now we finish with problems in the die itself. The machinery is working fine, but its elements have issues. (Don’t we all) Guess what,...

Striking errors

Although they are quite noticeable, I am not referring to striking in that way! (adjective: attracting attention by reason of being unusual, extreme, or prominent) After our talk on Planchet Errors, now we are going to talk about striking errors. Now there are many...

Planchet errors

OK so let’s dive in a bit more from our last post on error coins, specifically on planchet errors. Three of the nine listed varieties have to deal with planchet. So definition time. A planchet is a round metal disk that is all set up and good to go to be struck as a...

When an error is not a mistake

The OED lists the definition or Error as (1) A mistake  or   (1.3 technical) A measure of the estimated difference between the observed or calculated value of a quantity and its true value. In the world of coins, the 1.3 definition is much more important than the 1...

Classifying coins

Classifying coins or coin catalogs Ever wonder why when you see coin catalogs they are listed in a particular order? Well it is not just the OCD parts of us coming out, it is for ease and consistency. When numismatists (someone who studies coins) started getting...

What’s your type ….coins?

Type coins, what they are, they and why they matter. Getting into Collecting So we have touched on all the types of coins there are out there, with a focus on the US coins. As you might imagine, if you get into world and ancients there is a mind numbing amount of...