Partial Edge Lettering on Presidential Dollars
Thursday April 12, 2007
I received the following question, regarding a Presidential Dollar with partial edge lettering, via email from Col. Gerald Pepper in Florida (used with permission):
Have exhausted my sources trying to figure out a value for this Presidential Dollar coin. Seems to be a one of a kind and NGC or PCGS has not responded to my inquiry. The edge of the coin reads as follows; NOTE ( ) represents a clip/gouge:
2007 P ( ) E PLURIBU( )OD WE TRUST
then a blank space of about 1" back to date.
It surely is something out of the ordinary for Presidential Dollar plain edges (or1/2 plain edge). Has been 2 others similiar to this listed on eBay for between $3500-5000 and neither sold. Is it too soon to try to place a value on this coin because there has been nothing to compare it to? Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Col. Pepper,
I am sorry to be the one to have to break this bad news to you, but the reason Presidential Dollars of this type haven't sold is that this sort of edge lettering error isn't uncommon. So far, in every single specimen to come forward (and I have personally seen at least a hundred reports and photos,) the dollars with missing segments of edge lettering also have a small dent or gouge in the planchet about 180 degrees across from where the missing edge letters are.
The reason the letters are missing is that the coin is apparently losing contact with the impeller wheel that drives it through the edge lettering device. The coins are flying through this thing at the rate of 1,000 coins per MINUTE, and any loss of contact with the impeller causes the coin to skip (or slip, experts are still not agreed on whether we are seeing "slippage" or "skipping" here.) But everyone agrees that the cause of the missing letters on these coins is the dent, gouge, or cut which is about 180 degrees across from the missing portion of the inscription.
The value of these Presidential Dollar coins ranges from perhaps $10 to maybe $30, depending on what portions of the edge lettering are missing. Some people, for example, collect "atheist coins," where parts of the legend "In God We Trust" are obliterated or altered. Whatever value these errors have, it seems minimal, and I don't believe the major grading services are encapsulating them as errors, per se. As for the name of this error, there's really no consensus yet. Perhaps "partial edge lettering" will suffice.
After sending Col. Pepper the reply above, he wrote back to tell me that NGC responded, saying they would encapsulate the partial edge lettering error. This is a good time to remind people that before you submit error and variety coins to a grading service, always check with them first to make sure they're grading the error. Otherwise, you're likely to get your coin back in a body bag, and lose the fees you paid.
Have exhausted my sources trying to figure out a value for this Presidential Dollar coin. Seems to be a one of a kind and NGC or PCGS has not responded to my inquiry. The edge of the coin reads as follows; NOTE ( ) represents a clip/gouge:
2007 P ( ) E PLURIBU( )OD WE TRUST
then a blank space of about 1" back to date.
It surely is something out of the ordinary for Presidential Dollar plain edges (or1/2 plain edge). Has been 2 others similiar to this listed on eBay for between $3500-5000 and neither sold. Is it too soon to try to place a value on this coin because there has been nothing to compare it to? Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Col. Pepper,
I am sorry to be the one to have to break this bad news to you, but the reason Presidential Dollars of this type haven't sold is that this sort of edge lettering error isn't uncommon. So far, in every single specimen to come forward (and I have personally seen at least a hundred reports and photos,) the dollars with missing segments of edge lettering also have a small dent or gouge in the planchet about 180 degrees across from where the missing edge letters are.
The reason the letters are missing is that the coin is apparently losing contact with the impeller wheel that drives it through the edge lettering device. The coins are flying through this thing at the rate of 1,000 coins per MINUTE, and any loss of contact with the impeller causes the coin to skip (or slip, experts are still not agreed on whether we are seeing "slippage" or "skipping" here.) But everyone agrees that the cause of the missing letters on these coins is the dent, gouge, or cut which is about 180 degrees across from the missing portion of the inscription.
The value of these Presidential Dollar coins ranges from perhaps $10 to maybe $30, depending on what portions of the edge lettering are missing. Some people, for example, collect "atheist coins," where parts of the legend "In God We Trust" are obliterated or altered. Whatever value these errors have, it seems minimal, and I don't believe the major grading services are encapsulating them as errors, per se. As for the name of this error, there's really no consensus yet. Perhaps "partial edge lettering" will suffice.
After sending Col. Pepper the reply above, he wrote back to tell me that NGC responded, saying they would encapsulate the partial edge lettering error. This is a good time to remind people that before you submit error and variety coins to a grading service, always check with them first to make sure they're grading the error. Otherwise, you're likely to get your coin back in a body bag, and lose the fees you paid.
Comments
No comments yet. Leave a Comment