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From:Ed H. Peralez
Subject: Error Quarter
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I just found a South Carolina quarter with gold color on the heads side and silver on the other side. Is this normal?

You have a Lamination error.  See the CoinSite FAQ and see the article on Clad Quarters.  Also see the Error Coin Prices  feature for a table of Lamination Error prices and prices for State Quarter errors. Note that clad quarters have been made since 1965 and have no silver content.

The penny is a British coin and dates from 775 AD. The First U.S. cent (often called a penny too)was minted in 1793 at the Philadelphia Mint. 

Cents haven't been struck on copper planchets since 1982.  They are struck on blanks that are virtually pure zinc with plating of pure copper. Someone etched the copper barrel plating off Lincoln's bust, probably with an acid and a small brush.  Closer examination shows that they weren't too careful and the background around Lincoln is etched in places also (see the area under his chin). This coin is not an error but someone's plaything.  It has no collector value, except as a curiosity.

This is a Spanish Colonial silver coin minted at the Mexico City Mint. The assayer (the person responsible for making the coins) is F.F. The obverse shows the bust of Charles III of Spain, the legend around is in Latin and says: CAROLUS III DEI GRATIA (Charles III By the Grace of G-d).  The date, 1782 is below the bust.

The reverse shows the crowned arms of Spain with alternating castles and lions. The Pillars of Hercules are on either side. The reverse legend is around and continues from the obverse: HISPAN.ET IND.REX (King of Spain and the Indies).  There is a small "M" with a circle over it representing the Mexico City Mint. 2R represents 2 Reales, the denomination.

It is not unusual to find 2 reales pieces holed. The Spanish demanded that the native Indians use money, something quite foreign to them.  They also had no pockets in which to carry the coins.  They simply holed the coins and threaded them on a thong and wore them on their clothing. Value Range: US $10 -15 in low grade.

You have a 1882 Portugal bronze 20 reis (100 reis=tostao).  The obverse shows the head of King Luiz I facing left, the legend  D. LUIZ. I. REI. DE. PORTUGAL (Luiz I King of Portugal) is around.  The reverse shows the denomination in Roman numerals (XX REIS) and the date, 1882. There were 17,235,000 20 reis coins struck at the Lisbon Mint in 1882.  Value depends on grade (condition). Value range: US 50 cents - $10.

A "counterfeit" wouldn't look obviously different than a regular note or else no one would except the counterfeiter's work as genuine.

There are many types of currency errors and collectors do pay premiums for them.  Your description is a bit vague but it sounds like you might have an "offset" error. (worth $50 -$100). For more information about this type of currency error, click Here.

The word "copy" or "replica" tells you that it is not a genuine item and therefore does not have "collector" value. There have been bullion items made to imitate California gold and other coins. These are valued for their precious metal value only.

By the way, a half eagle weighs 8.359 grams and contains .24187 of a troy ounce of gold.  The word "copy" or "replica" is mandated by the United States Hobby Protection Act of 1973.

You have a 1913 3 Marks issued by the German State of Saxony (Sachsen). It shows the head of King Friedrich August III (1904-1918) with the legend around: FRIEDRICH AUGUST KONIG V. SACHSEN (Friedrich August King of Saxony). The reverse shows the Arms of Saxony with the legend around: DEUTSCHES REICH 1913 DREI MARK (German Empire 1913 Three marks).

The coin weighs 16.667 grams and is 90% silver (.4823 troy ounce pure). 307,000 pieces were minted of this date. Value depends on grade (condition): Range: de (condition): Range: $5 - $45.

A krugerrand is a standard one ounce bullion coin and is valued at the price of gold in the market. The reverse, by the way, shows a "Springbok". See the Coinsite Metals Page for the current world price of gold.

There were no uncirculated mint sets produced by the U.S. Mint in 1982 and 1983.  All the "sets" offered for sale are made up sets made up by private individuals from uncirculated coins received at banks or in year sets only available in person at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.

The following is a defintion of a Mint or uncirculated set. Some collectors only buy part of a set forgetting that the there are more than one package included.

Mint Sets consist of regular circulating coins that are inserted into a clear plastic film.  For 1999 there are 4 clear coin packages. Two from the Philadelphia Mint consisting of one package with a cent, nickel, dime, half-dollar and a Philadelphia mint token struck on a cent blank and one package that has one example of each State Quarter (5) with a "P" mint mark. These two packs are inserted into a blue and white envelope labeled United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set Philadelphia.

The other half of the set, consists of two packages similar to the above with each coin having a "D" mint mark. The two Denver packs are in a Dark Red and white envelope labeled Denver. The Philadelphi adn Denver envelopes together make one 1999 uncirculated mint set. Again, outside of their superior condition, they are identical to regular circulating coinage.

All United States coins are made to specific specifications and blanks are cut from prescribed strip.  Dimes, quarters and half-dollars are struck on clad blanks and have been made this way since 1965.  The specifications of a clad quarter are the following:

The weight is 5.67 grams with an outer layer of copper-nickel (75% copper and 25% nickel) bonded to a core of pure copper. Though nickel doesn't tone, copper does, especially in the presence of oxidizers such as sulfur compounds and acids, both of which are available at the Mint.

The possibility of quarters being struck on other metals than what is on hand to strike coins is small. Recently, for the first time in United States history a "mule" was created, that is two mismatched dies from other coins.  In this case it is a quarter obverse and a Sacagawea dollar reverse struck on a dollar planchet. But dollar planchets are available.

Weighing the coin is diagnostic. Coins struck on other coin blanks happen occaisionally but their weights and sizes are different than normal coins (see Prices for U.S. Error Coins  for a partial listing).

If your coin weighs more or less than the specified weight you might want to send the coin to the American Numismatic Association for diagnosis and authentication.

You have a 1677 Denmark, silver, 2 skillings (16 skillings=1 mark  12 marks=1 ducat). The obverse shows a crowned shield (lions) within a circle, legend around (the titles of Christian V- 1670-1699). The reverse shows II SKILL DANS within an inner circle; around, legend and date. Value depends on condition (grade). Low grade or damaged examples bring US $3 - $5.

You have a 1863 Italy, copper 10 centesimi (100 centesimi= 1 Lira). The obverse shows the head of King Vittorio Emanuele II (1861-1878) facing left, the legend VITTORIO EMANUELE II RE ITALIA (Vittorio Emanuele II King of Italy) is around.  The reverse shows 10 CENTESIMI 1863 within a wreath. There is no mint mark.  This particular year of the 10 centesimi was struck at the Paris Mint. Mintage: 80 million pieces.   Value depends on grade (condition). Value Range: US 50 cents - $40.

'Probably not all in one place yet. If you are interested in Spanish Numismatics you might want to get a copy of Numismatica Española by F. Calicó. All thirty-eight New World and Old World Spanish mint marks and their variations are listed. You might want to check you local coin shop to see if they have a copy of  this very useful volume or contact the distributor directly at:

Gabinete Numismático
Calicó Plaza del Angel. 3.
Barcelona-2
España

They all came in a clear package with a short description about each one. My question how do I tell if they are real or a reproduction of the real thing?

The period from 1652 to the American Revolution in 1776 saw many different and creative attempts to supply coinage for commerce in the Americas. Though English coins circulated when available, the Crown never made a effort to provide coinage for the colonies.

Of the first group of Colonial coins were the Massachusetts pieces.  Among them, the silver Oak Tree coinage exists in 2 pence, 3 pence, 6 pence and shilling denominations, all dated 1652.

The first attempt at some sort of American Union was the Confederation.  Each State attempted to create a State coinage.  The copper pieces by William Moulton (WM) for New Hampshire were essentially a pattern coinage and never circulated.

The New York copper "Bar" cent was probably privately made in England for use in New York.  It shows 13 parallel and unconnected bars on one side (representing the 13 original colonies) and the monogram "USA" on the other. These coins are known to have circulated in New York during November of 1785.

Since the above coins are very rare and valuable (if you could locate them, the aggregate total value in high grade would be $25,000+), these particular coins have been reproduced by museums and others for educational purposes and are often packaged as you described. Replicas have no monetary value.

Replicas made after the U.S. Congress passed the Hobby Protection Act of 1973, must show the word "copy" or "replica" somewhere on the coin though replicas made outside of the U.S. often to not show this.

If you believe your coins might be genuine, you can have the coins authenticated at the American Numismatic Association. They provide an opinion and a certificate with photographs for genuine coins for a very nominal fee. The ANA is a non-profit organization charted by the United States Congress in 1892. See the CoinSite Links Page.

It would be a very valuable error if the die that struck the coin didn't have a mint mark. However, there is yet to be a report of a 1998 quarter die without mint mark.  You might have "filled die" error where dirt or debris fills the recesses of part of a die not allowing the metal to flow into that element in the die. The resulting coin would be missing that part of the design. Subsequent strikings usually burn away the debris so the following coins are complete.  Generally, there is at least a shadow of the missing digit, letter or mint mark.

Note that the position of the mint mark on a 1998 quarter is to the right of Washington's bust.  If you think you have a 1998 quarter struck from a die with a missing mint mark, you can have the coin authenticated by the American Numismatic Association.  See the CoinSite's Links Page.

The Indian or Buffalo Nickel (1913-1938) was designed by James E. Fraser. The Indian is a composite of three Indian models that sat for Mr. Fraser.  The reverse shows a bison, often called a "buffalo", thought to be "Black Diamond" from the Bronx Zoo.

One of the last European adventures in the New World was France's expedition to Mexico in 1861 which took advantage of the civil unrest there.  Napoleon III of France set up a Mexican Empire ruled by Archduke Maximilian, the brother of Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria.  Emperor Maximilian's coinage consisted of a silver peso divided in to 100 centavos with silver 50, 10 and 5 centavos and copper one centavos. There also exists a gold 20 Pesos (33.84 grams).

The United States refused to recognize the rule of Maximilian and demanded that France leave Mexico.  France left but didn't take poor Maximilian with them.  He was very unpopular and was executed in 1867 and the Republic was restored.

The small gold Maximilian tokens are of modern manufacture, mostly for the jewelry trade. Most are 10k gold but some are just gold plated brass.

I'm sure your token brought you much more luck than Maximilian.

You have a "Magic Coin".  See the CoinSite's Search Tool and click the popular searches and search for the above for lots more info. "Eradicane" and "Fusilade" are magic words used in the trick (they roughly mean "disappear" and "melt" From the Latin Eradere and fusilis.

You  have either an 1843 Great Britain half sovereign or sovereign.  The coin shows a Young Head Queen Victoria on the obverse and her shield on the reverse.  Both are .917 fine gold.  The half sovereign weighs 3.9940 grams and the sovereign, 7.9881 grams. The value depends on which coin you actually have and the grade (condition).  Value range: $50 - $600.

You have a "magic coin" constructed at a machine shop from two genuine coins.  The seam is on the inside of the rim not on the edge.  See "Magic Coins" on the CoinSite Search Tool's Popular Searches (see the Home page). NOTE THIS IS NOT A UNITED STATES MINT PRODUCT AND HAS NO STATUS AS A COIN ERROR.  Also, see the article  Two-headed "Magic" Coins.

You can also weigh the coin. "Magic" coins tend to be hollowed out and therefore are under standard weight (though I did find one that was filled with lead and weighed more than a standard quarter.  U.S. clad quarters (1965 - present) weigh exactly 5.67 grams. You can also do a "ring" test. Balance the coin on one finger and tap in with a pencil. A genuine coin will ring, a hollowed out composite coin will "thud".

If you still have doubts you can send it to the American Numismatic Association for authentication (see the CoinSite Links Page). A genuine, Mint struck "two headed" Washington quarter would be worth far more than $50.  It would be the only one known.  1943 copper cents have brought as much as $110,000 at auction and there are at least twenty of those.

Also, see your local magic or hobby shop. Last time I looked, composite two headed coins (or two tailed) sold for $8 or so.  You can also get composite dime/cents (dime on one side, cent on the other) also used in specific tricks.