The United States Mint has produced one of the most spectacular error coins that is available to collectors of US error coins. A dime (valued at 10 cents) was struck on a zinc coated nail either by sheer accidental contamination of the barrel of coin blanks or by Mint staff having placed it in the press for a laugh. Well a laugh we’ve had! This is one of the most impressive error coins we’ve seen and it’s for sale as well! The “coin” has been graded by PCGS as MS65 and is currently being sold by Heritage Auctions in the US. The bidding is currently sitting at $6,000USD and we expect this to rise before the hammer falls and this coin goes to a new home and is tucked away by the astute buyer.
Fred Weinberg is a leading expert in the US error coin market and has seen many rare error coins. Australian coins struck on foreign objects are truly rare (perhaps this $2 is struck on a washer) but have been seen in the RAM’s own collection of extreme error coins. Their error coin display, “One in a Million” showed the public some of the more interesting rare and valuable coin errors such as this proof platypus 20 cent struck on a bolt:
Australian 20 cent Struck on a Bolt
The One in a Million display also showed us what can happen when the press malfunctions such as this 5 cent struck on the index plate that feeds each blank in the coin collar for it to be struck. Or further below a $5 coin struck on a feeder finger.
5 Cent Struck on an Index Plate
$5 Struck on Feeder Finger
