Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Source: Email from Mel Fisher Treasures. |
From Mel Fisher Treasures...
Sword Handle Discovered!
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Have you found any Kanake'ole quarters lately? If you did, look it over. Maybe it bears a visible mint error. Examples have been reported of what is called a coin clash error.
Not only is it very strong, but it stands out like a sore thumb right in the center of George Washington’s profile from a reverse design that will have a short run never to be seen again.
The bold, block style lettering of “EDITH” almost looks like the clash spells “EDITH.” Only the “T” appears out of place with its top horizontal bar at the lower end of the clash when the design is viewed heads-up. The rest of the letters of “EDITH” using this font of lettering looks the same inverted or not. It is reminiscent of the famous 1888-O VAM 1A Clashed E Morgan dollar where the “E” looks like an “E” on both obverse and reverse due to the same cause.
The appearance of the clash seemingly reading from left to right behind Washington’s ear, is due to the obverse and reverse being struck in “coin alignment;” the reverse points down when the obverse is up. The extreme strength of the clashing of “EDETH” is due to Kanaka‘ole’s name being raised on the die and incuse on the coin...
Major Error Discovered on Kanaka‘ole Quarter - Numismatic News
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| Illustration of Error Coin from eBay. |
I've done some error coin searching in the past and found a few, including some that were documented on online error coin sites. I never tried to sell any and don't know how much they'd be worth, but I'd guess nothing real valuable, although it was fun to make finds that were interesting to coin collectors and have the listed. Coin searching is another one of those things that is made much easier by using the right type of microscope.
Here are a few examples.
Notice the depression running from the S to the E in STATES on the one cent coin shown below.
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| Penny Showing Rim Burr. |
Here is something more obvious.
A strike-through is created when an object is between the planchet and die and when the die strikes an impression of the foreign object will be left on the coin.
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| Georges Throat Slashed. |
I'm not sure now if the slash is a planchet problem or a strike through.
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| Nickel Showing Die Chips. |
Among the more common errors you'll find, although most will not be valueable, are die chips, such as those shown above. You can see a chip in the O and on the T and S. Most aren't valuable because they are so common.
You'll see a lot of die chips on Roosevelt dimes. You'll find a lot that look like acne on Roosevelts face.
You'll also find a lot of die chips on the back of wheat cents on the wheat shafts.
Die cracks are also fairly common. Of course, the common ones are not valuable.
Die cracks are not like scratches. Die cracks, coming from a crack in the die, causes a raised line on the coin instead of a depression. Various examples can be documented that track the progression of the crack on the die resulting in bigger and bigger cracks. A die crack can progress until the die falls apart if it is not taken out of service first.
The point is that even modern coins can be interesting if you inspect them for varieties and errors. You might even be the first to discover a new variety or error.
Many people think they have a double die error. If you check our coin collecting forums, you'll see that a lot of the questions are people who think they found a double die error when it is actually an image caused by the experts, mechanical doubling, which is not regarded as anything significant.
Here is a link that will tell you how to identify double die errors.
Double Die Obverse Coins – How to Spot Them - Dave W Coins
For me, looking for error coins is tedious, but you might enjoy it if you have the time and interest. It isn't easy for a newbie to spot genuine errors, and, of course, the valuable ones are pretty rare.
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Found objects, like all objects, can be utilitarian, aesthetic or economic. Objects hold a more or less constant form over time, but some objects also hold memories.
Recently, my wife and I have been going through closets and cabinets to see what we can find to throw away. As a detectorist, and as someone with an interest in a wide variety of types of things, I've accumulated much more than I need. As I go through the items that have been stored away and long forgotten, they set off a string of memories. Those memories take me back to distant times and places. I remember where and when I found them, along with many other details. The longer I dwell on an item the longer the stream of memories becomes.
People store a lot of long-term information in text and photographs. One thing I just discovered in a file folder was my eBay transaction records, many of which were probably at least twenty years old. It was interesting to look at the records of old sales and be reminded of some of the neat objects I once owned but sold. Of course, the items I sold were generally items to which I didn't have the greatest personal attachment, but one thing I found especially interesting along with my sales records was the information on buyers along with their notes and comments.
I've always been happy to send my items to museums or collectors or people who for one reason or another simply loved an item. It was nice enough just to remember the unique items that I had forgotten about, such as the Snoopy toy fire truck, or Four Quartets book by T. S. Eliot that went to a university professor of literature, or the old calendar lithographs that ended up being hung in a museum, but it was also very nice knowing they went to a place where they would continue to be appreciated. It was nice to get some money for the items, but now I like even more sending them to a place where they would be appreciated and cared for.
You might say that in their molecular structure items have a kind of memory. That semi-enduring structure is what makes them identifiable as objects, but objects also seem in some way to become connected to experiences and memories. When looking at a find, it might take you back to the day you found it, no matter how many years ago that was. I've told many stories about my own finds and the memories they contained for me.
One thing about keeping finds is that the longer you live with an item and pay attention to it, the better you get to know it. Items are transformed as you learn more about them. You see them differently when you learn more about them.
Beginning bottle hunters, for example, often look primarily for embossed bottles that tell them something in plain words. Bottles that have no embossing are often simply referred to as "slicks" and quickly discarded without a second glance. They are called slicks because when you pick one up out of the muck and mud, you might not able to see what is on it so you slide your fingers over it to feel any embossing. If you only feel a smooth bottle without any embossing, it feels slick.
For most beginners, a bottle has to speak in plain words. A more advanced hunter/collector, however, will hear the bottles story in more subtle whispers through the thickness, color, shape and quality of glass. Like in a long-term relationship, the slightest gesture can send a message as clearly as many words.
I now look at bottles in a different than I did at the beginning. Instead of just looking at the front for embossed wording, I look through the glass, noting bubbles, stretch marks, various shades or hues, changes in thickness, and also bottom marks or machine marks. I've always liked the translucency of glass but now appreciate it in a different way. Glass bottles show the skill of the blower and stoneware bottles show the actual fingerprints. Machined bottles leave their clues too, but they aren't so peronal.
Coins are similar, but the person who makes the coins seem at least one step more removed compared to the bottle blower who puts his breath into his bottles. Coins, even Spanish Colonial, are formed between metal dies. Still on coins you can see than handiwork of the craftsman in the imprint of the die. You can see the imprint of the process, including unintended errors.
Time helps you appreciate things more. It is very much the same with people and life. The later years of life bring a certain sweetness as you remember the many times, places and especially the people. You get to know your friends and loved ones in a deeper and different way. And, most of all, knowing that those that have departed have been purchased by someone that loves and cares for them in a more perfect way than I could ever do.
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| Source: nhc.noaa.gov. |
OK. So we are starting to see things heating up. We have a tropical storm now - Dexter. Dexter, by the way, is headed out to sea.
Maybe someday we'll get some action that moves some of that renourishment sand.
As you can see below, the surf is picking up, ever so slightly.
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| Source: Surfguru.com. |
So expect something like a two-foot surf along the Treasure Coast and watch for additional developments.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net