Broadstruck Error Coins Not Always Valuable
By Brad Hall
Sometimes people will have a tried and true error coin in their hands and not have much money in terms of value. This is a testament to the value that is placed on the many types of errors that can occur in the mint and how often they occur. A good example would be the broadstruck error coins. While it is true that this is a true form of error coin, that does not mean that it is actually all that valuable in every case. One must determine how often this occurs for the denomination that you have in order to understand what you have in terms of value.
Broadstruck error coins occur when the blank planchet does not drop into the retaining collar all the way so the coin is struck on a slant. So what you get is a coin that appears to be off center in a way but is actually centered but just shift off the side. Most often the coin will appear to be flat on one edge while thicker at the other edge. This is due to the displacement of the metal when the planchet is struck by the dies as they come together.
More often than not the broadstruck error coins are very common. This is a common problem for the mint as they have not devised a way to make sure that the coin drops into the collar all the time. Then you throw in the fact that not every coin is inspected before leaving the mint and you have an error that leaves the facility on a regular basis in many of the denominations that are struck these days.
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What really matters when it comes to the broadstruck error coins is the denomination of the coin and how many examples have been on the market in recent years. The more rare the strike the more valuable the coin. In most cases pennies or cents have little value in the broadstruck error coins department because this occurs most often on this denomination. For the higher values you should look to the higher denominations, like quarters. When a new state quarter is issued the demand for broadstruck examples is high and the demand for the previous versions drops sharply. This is shown as well with the Washington quarters where there is very little demand for broadstruck error coins in this version unless they are very dramatic.
About the Author
Brad Hall is the editor of http://us-mint-coins.blogspot.com the number one resource for US mint error coin information anywhere on the web.
