139. Collecting Philippine ERROR COINS

An error coin is a coin that was manufactured incorrectly by a mint. Many times called mint errors, error coins come in scores of "shapes, sizes, and types." The sheer variety of minted errors adds excitement and uniqueness to collecting them. 

People who love error coins are at the opposite end of the perfection spectrum, though they often pay top dollar for their treasured damaged goods. Errors are coins that didn't turn out quite as the mint intended, with clipped edges, overstruck dates, and quirky imperfections.

One of the many things that make error coins so interesting is that they encourage the coin collector to become knowledgeable about the minting process itself since all error coins are the result of something going awry at the mint.

Error on US-Philippine coins (1903-1945)  are quite popular and command better prices than the republic coins, because of their demand in the US. But recently, I noticed that unusual errors on republic coins are commanding high prices locally when auctioned on social media and on eBay.  So always examine your coins in batches of similar coins. For instance, check all of your one peso coins, and then the other coins.  Your eye will get used to seeing each type after the first couple of coins, so you can quickly scan them once your brain has become familiar. The more dramatic the error or variety is, the more valuable it will be.

CURVE CLIPPED PLANCHET

A misfeed can occur when the metal strip is fed through the blanking machine. The punches sometimes overlap the leading edge of the metal producing a straight clip. Sometimes, the punches strike an area of the strip which overlaps the hole left by the previous strike producing a curved clip.  Sometimes punches strike the irregular trailing edge of the metal strip producing irregular clips.

1972 Rizal One Piso  (Pilipino Series)

1984 Rizal One Piso (Flora-Fauna Series)

STRAIGHT CLIPPED PLANCHET

If the metal strip shifts during the punching process and the punches overlap the straight side edge of the strip, a straight area of metal will be missing from the planchet.

1972 Rizal One Piso  (Pilipino Series)

BLANK PLANCHET

Planchet was released without having been struck

One Peso Rizal Blank Planchet (Pilipino Series)

BROADSTRIKE

Broadstrike errors are produced when the collar die (the circular die surrounding the lower die) malfunctions. The collar prevents the metal of the blank from flowing outside the confines of the die. 

1944 US-Philippines 5 Centavos

1917 US-Philippines 10 Centavos

1945 US-Philippines 10 Centavos

1972 Rizal 1 Piso (Pilipino Series)

1975 Pres. Marcos 5 Piso (Ang Bagong Lipunan Series)

BROKEN PLANCHET MINT ERROR

A broken planchet occurs when there are impurities in the alloy causing a weakness across the length of the planchet. Usually, this breakage occurs after the coin enters circulation, but that is not the rule of thumb.

1945 US-Philippines 20 Centavos Silver

1945 US-Philippines 10 Centavos Silver

1945 US-Philippines 20 Centavos Silver

INDENT

When a blank planchet partially overlaps another planchet in the striking chamber and gets struck, the overlapping area on the struck coin will exhibit a blank indented area from the other planchet being struck into it.

1944 US-Philippines 20 Centavos Silver Coin

1974 Lapu Lapu 1 Sentimo (Pilipino Series)

BROCKAGE

Occurs the same as an indent, except that a struck coin is struck into a blank planchet leaving a mirror image impression, although often quite distorted due to metal flow.

1974 Balagtas 10 Sentimo (Pilipino Series)

UNIFACE

A uniface strike mint error occurs when a blank planchet enters the coining chamber and rests on top of another blank planchet then they’re struck with the hammer and the anvil dies. The bottom planchet will receive the reverse design but not the design on the other side because of the planchet on top, and the planchet on top will receive the obverse design but not the reverse because of the planchet underneath.

1958 One Centavo (English Series)

CUD

When a significant part of the edge of the die deteriorates and falls off. The coins struck with this die exhibit a raised blank area on that part of the design. Sometimes called "major die break"

1945 US-Philippines 10 Centavos Silver Coin

DOUBLE-STRUCK

This type of error occurs when a minted coin is struck again by the coining dies before it has left the coining press completely. This usually results in a partial impression of the coin over the previously struck image.

1982 Pres. Marcos 5 Piso  (Ang Bagong Lipunan Series)

1966 10 Centavos (English Series)

No Date (1966)  10 Centavos (English Series)

OFF-CENTER STRIKE

An off-center coin is produced when the coin is struck once, albeit off center. Unlike a broadstrike, the punch is not in the center of the coin, but rather on the edge. This results in a coin that is not circular. The coin gives a freakish appearance as a result, and various amounts of blank planchet space are visible. The coins can vary in value because of how far off center they are struck, although coins with full dates are more desirable than coins without a date or missing digits

1945 US-Philippines 5 Centavos

1945 US-Philippines 10 Centavos Silver

1966  10 Centavos (English Series)

No Date 1 Sentimos (Ang Bagong Lipunan Series)

1976  5 Sentimos (Ang Bagong Lipunan Series)

No Date 25 Sentimos (Ang Bagong Lipunan Series)

No Date  Lapu Lapu 1 Sentimo (Ang Bagong Lipunan Series)

LAMINATION

Dirt and impurities in the metal of the planchet can manifest themselves as cracks and peels on the struck coin.

1945 US-Philippines 10 Centavos Silver

1945 US-Philippines 20 Centavos Silver

WEAK STRIKE OR DIE TRIAL

Occurs when there is insufficient pressure from the dies to leave a full impression on the planchet. This can occur for a variety of reasons but usually occurs when the power to the presses is turned off and the dies continue to strike coins with less and less pressure until coming to a stop. On such coins, all the detail, including the reeding on clad coins should exhibit extreme weakness. If the coin is simply struck through grease, some details may be strong and the edge reading will also be strong.

1958 1 Centavo (English Series)

Triple Error  - Weak Strike / Off Center / Lamination
No Date  1 Centavo (English Series)

WRONG PLANCHET / OFF METAL

When a planchet is struck by a pair of dies that do not correspond to the denomination intended for the planchet, a wrong planchet error occurs.

Off Metal / Wrong Metal - 1974  5 sentimos struck on 10 sentimos planchet (Pilipino Series)

Off Metal / Wrong Metal - 1971  25 sentimos struck on 5 sentimos planchet (Pilipino Series)

Wrong Planchet - 1 Piso struck on 50 sentimos planchet (Pilipino Series)

Wrong Planchet - 25 Piso struck on 10 sentimos planchet (Pilipino Series)

Wrong Planchet - 1 Piso struck on 50 sentimos planchet (Flora Fauna Series)

 

Double Error Uniface and Wrong Planchet - 1 Piso struck on 10 sentimos planchet (Pilipino Series)

For inquiries about errors, coins send to: lumang.gamit@yahoo.com

Sources:
CW Collectors Weekly
Jim's Coins & Stamp
Wikipedia