The following mint errors were featured in the 2025 August 26 - 31 ANA US Coins Signature® Auction #1385.
Images Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, HA.com
1977 Lincoln Cent, MS60
Struck in Aluminum
Sole Example Known
Sold For: $50,400.00
1977 Lincoln Cent -- Struck on an Aluminum Planchet -- MS60 NGC. 1.04 grams. One of the most famous modern mint rarities is the 1974 aluminum cent. It had a mintage of approximately 1.5 million pieces, but virtually all were melted. According to USPatterns.com, PCGS graded an example as MS62 with a weight of 0.93 grams. A typical 1977 copper cent has a standard weight of 3.11 grams. According to MintErrorNews.com, the present lot is the only known aluminum 1977 cent, and was in the collection of error specialist Fred Weinberg for "over two decades." MintErrorNews.com suggests three possible scenarios for its existence. It could be an intentionally made mint error, a pattern struck in aluminum, or a strike on a leftover planchet from the 1974 to 1975 production era of the aluminum cent. In any event, this is the only aluminum Lincoln cent that any collector can reasonably hope to own. The untoned surfaces show a good strike, satiny luster, and a few minor rim marks. The NGC insert misspells the alloy as ALUNIMUM.
A 1971-S cent struck on an unidentified foreign aluminum planchet was certified by NGC as AU58. It sold in the Heritage September 16, 2024 Error Coinage US Coins Showcase Auction #60398 for $31,200 (lot #52156).
1980-D Lincoln Cent, MS64
Struck on a 90% Silver Dime Planchet
Unusual Obsolete Planchet Mint Error
Sold For: $18,000.00
1980-D Lincoln Cent -- Struck on a 90% Silver Dime Blank -- MS64 NGC. 2.5 grams, the expected weight of a 90% silver dime. An unusual offering. While most post-1964 Denver Mint Lincoln cent issues can be collected on clad dime planchets, allowing for considerable patience between auction or dealer list appearances, post-1964 cents on silver dime planchets are great rarities. This is especially the case for dates prior to 1992, when silver proof set production resumed. Perhaps a visitor to the Denver Mint, or perhaps a mint worker or planchet supplier employee, placed one or more 90% silver dime planchets into a bin of cent planchets, just for the fun of surprising the unknown eventual finder. Struck flush with the collar die near 6 o'clock. The tops of IN GOD WE TRUST approach the edge. Smooth and satiny with light tan border toning.
Undated San Francisco Walking Liberty Half
Double Struck, Second Strike 90% Off Center
Sold For: $11,400.00
19XX-S 50C Walking Liberty Half Dollar -- Double Struck, Second Strike 90% Off Center -- AU53 PCGS. A dramatic off-center mint error on one of the most popular and iconic silver type coins. The first strike was normal, but the coin failed to exit the die chamber and was struck a second time. The second strike was at 7 o'clock relative to the first strike, and 90% off center toward 12 o'clock. No planchet was fed in between strikes. The second strike features Liberty's head and the E in LIBERTY. The reverse shows virtually all of HALF DOLLAR. The date is absent, since the second strike overlaps the date area from the first strike. However, the San Francisco mintmark shows the Knob S style in use for the 1945-S and 1946-S.
1944 Lincoln Cent, AU50
Obverse Mirror Brockage
Sold For: $18,000.00
1944 Lincoln Cent -- Obverse Mirror Brockage -- AU50 CACG. The story of the present lot begins with the coin struck immediately before it. That coin stuck to the reverse die, and served as a surrogate die to a newly fed planchet. This planchet (to become the present coin) was struck between the obverse die and the obverse of the previously struck coin. This lightly circulated chocolate-brown World War II cent has a normal obverse and an incused and reversed reverse. The strike is soft on the reverse periphery, since the obverse die was much harder than the reverse die cap, or previously struck cent. This importance of this brockage was recognized by the Greysheet's CAC Rare Coin Market Report, which placed the coin on the cover of the May-June-July 2024 issue.
1926-S Mercury Dime, AU55
Double Struck, 2nd Strike Off Center
Low-Mintage Semikey
Sold For: $6,600.00
1926-S Mercury Dime -- Double Struck, 2nd Strike Off Center -- AU55 NGC. The first strike was normal, but the coin failed to fully eject, and was struck a second time. The second strike was about 80% off center toward 12 o'clock, at 1 o'clock relative to the first strike. No planchet was fed between strikes, thus the second strike shows portions of both designs, including the date and the top of the fasces. A search of our auction archives revealed only a few double struck Mercury dimes, none of which displayed two dates. Lightly toned and partly lustrous. The 1926-S has one of the lowest mintages of any Mercury dime issue. Only the 1916-D key, the 1921 and 1921-D semikeys, and the 1931-D have smaller productions. The 1926-S is much scarcer in higher grades than the 1931-D, which was saved in roll quantity.
1938-S Lincoln Cent, XF45
Coined on a Dime Planchet
Sold For: $10,200.00
1938-S Lincoln Cent -- Struck a Dime Planchet -- XF45 NGC. 2.5 grams, equal to a standard 90% silver dime. The present off-metal cent was struck flush with the collar die at 4:30, thus the strike is fairly sharp on the date, mintmark, and lines of the right wheat ear. But most of the coin has a soft, broad rim, and spreading toward the border is evident on IN GOD WE TRUST. The L in LIBERTY shows only its tail. Luster glints from untoned, minimally marked surfaces. The 1938-S has less than one-tenth the mintage of its Philadelphia cousin.
Undated Bicentennial Ike Dollar
Proof Strike on a Silver-Clad Outer Layer
Sold For: $9,000.00
(1776-1976)-S Bicentennial Eisenhower Dollar, Silver Proof -- Struck on an Outer Silver-Clad Layer -- NGC. 4.04 grams. Type One Reverse. Clad coins usually have two clad layers separated by an inner layer of pure copper. 40% silver halves and dollars were the exception, struck with outer layers of 80% silver and a core layer of 20.9% silver. The two outer layers and its core are typically fused together on unstruck planchets, but on rare occasion, an outer layer does not bond to the other two layers. The present proof Bicentennial Ike dollar is struck on an outer silver-clad layer. As one might expect from the unexpectedly thin planchet, the strike is very soft, though the types are evident, and the mintmark is sharp.
1968-S Half Dollar, PR62
Struck on a Magnetic Planchet
Sold For: $9,000.00
1968-S Kennedy Half Dollar -- On a 125 Grains Magnetic Planchet -- PR62 PCGS. The present lot was long in the personal collection of error coin specialist Fred Weinberg. MintErrorNews.com quotes Mr. Weinberg as ""as far as I know, this is the only known U.S. proof mint error on a magnetic planchet and it is fascinating!" MintErrorNews.com adds, "although authenticated and certified by PCGS as Proof 62, it is as struck. The magnetic planchet does not have the reflectivity of a regular polished proof planchet, nor does the cameo portrait show on the obverse. It has the typical look and color of the few Mint State U.S. coins that are known to be struck on smaller magnetic washers."
1969-S Doubled Die Obverse Cent
FS-101, MS63 Brown - Incredible Mint State Example
Sold For: $28,800.00
1969-S 1C Doubled Die Obverse, FS-101, MS63 Brown PCGS. CAC. In 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins, third edition, the 1969-S Double Die Obverse cent is ranked in the #2 placement. Schechter and Garrett write: “The overall rarity and mystique of this coin give the king of the Lincoln cent varieties a comfortable seat among the greatest modern U.S. coins.” The king of Lincoln cent varieties indeed -- the 1969-S doubled die is nearly as strongly doubled as the 1955 doubled die, but it is more than 100 times rarer. Discovered in mid-1970, the 1969-S doubled die was initially declared counterfeit by the U.S. Secret Service, but after investigation the Service reversed its position and accepted the reality that the mint error was genuine. Since, finds of the variety have been almost exclusively in circulation or bank rolls. PCGS estimates that about 30 pieces are known.
The pick-up point for this variety is, of course, the strong obverse die doubling. LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, the date, and Lincoln’s jacket exhibit pronounced doubling. On this piece, some light machine doubling (a different phenomenon caused during coinage) is evident on the mintmark. Satiny luster glimmers when tilted beneath a light, and there are surprisingly few distractions. Outstanding eye appeal is generated by vivid copper-orange luster in the protected areas with burgundy and olive toning elsewhere. This is one of just three Brown coins for the grade at PCGS, with only a handful of Red and Brown and Red pieces listed finer. The CAC endorsement will only heighten collector interest (7/25).
Ex: Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 1-2/2019), lot 3525; ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2019), lot 3705.
1944 Steel Cent, AU Details
Important Error, Ex: Frontenac
Sold For: $18,000.00
1944 1C Struck on a Zinc-Coated Steel Planchet -- Improperly Cleaned -- NGC Details. AU. 2.8 grams. More 1944 steel cents are known than 1943 bronze, in part because the Philadelphia Mint was using leftover steel blanks to strike emergency Belgian coinage, creating more likely conditions for accidental 1944 steel cents. Though cleaned, which gives this piece a hairlined, half-bright look with a touch of blue on pale gray surfaces, it remains an important example of this error that has been known to collectors for decades.
Ex: The Frontenac Collection (Bowers and Merena, 11/1991), lot 1663; Orlando Signature (Heritage, 7/2013), lot 3069.
