1. Where is the “E Pluribus Unum” on the Washington Quarter? Answer Above the eagle’s head

2. What is the monetary unit of Australia? Answer Dollar

3. What is a lot in an auction? Answer An item or items sold as a single group

4. What major everyday product other than paper money does the BEP print? Answer Postage stamps

5. Of the 1965, 1966 and 1967 Special Mint Sets, which has the lowest mintage? Answer 1967

Ken Potter - May 19, 1999

I can’t begin to count the number of times a non-collector has asked me about a “rare” two-headed (or two-tailed) coin they (or Uncle Tom or Aunt Sue) found in circulation.

Unfortunately, their visions of thousand dollar bills or trips to Hawaii are quickly shattered by the bad news I’m forced to deliver. Their “one-of-a-kind” find is actually an alteration made from two coins with the final product known as a “magician’s coin.” They can be purchased as a novelty item in “magic shops” or from ads in places like comic books for about $4-$6 depending on the denomination involved.

Usually the owners protest, suggesting that their coin is “different” - they studied the edge closely and there is no seam to suggest that two coins had their reverses (or obverses) filed down and glued together.

However, “magicians coins” are not made that way, and unless one knows what to look for, are very difficult to detect. The place to look is not on the edge, but on the inside of the design rim on either side of the coin. This is because one side is comprised of a lathed out or hollowed out coin shell and the other side is made from a coin lathed around its circumference and reduced in thickness to fit snugly inside the shell. The resulting coin is virtually undetectable to the average observer, most of whom ignore the peculiar thud (rather than the familiar ring) the coin emits when dropped on a hard surface.

Today, I was directed to one of these alterations made from two half dollars, that at the point of this writing, has seen 23 bidders and has been bid up in excess of $50 in an online auction. Nowhere does the seller advise bidders that the coin is an alteration and I have to assume that most, if not all bidders, believe it to be a genuine Minting error.

For the record, the Mint grinds “flats” of different sizes into the head of the shanks of dies that prevents the obverse and reverse dies to be set interchangeably - thus two obverses or reverses can not be paired together as a unit to strike coins.

Read the rest of the article.

You may have heard of coins selling for thousands of dollars and wondered what was so special about them. The reason a coin sells for huge premiums is its rarity. If there were oodles of coins of a certain type, someone would have to be lacking basic intelligence to pay a huge premium for one. Rarity can be caused by several reasons. The mint might not make many to begin with, or the coin could be destroyed, melted down or recalled by the government, increasing the rarity of the leftovers.

Then there are error coins. These are rare because processes at the mint are in place to avoid errors. One of the most popular errors is the doubled die. Just what is a doubled die coin? J.T. Stanton has written an entire article to explain just that. I met J.T. at an ANA summer conference in Colorado Springs, CO and he was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher. In fact, he and Bill Fivaz (who was also at the conference) wrote the Cherrypicker’s Guide, an extremely popular error and variety book.

Without further ado, here’s JT’s article on doubled dies.

In Bill Fivaz’s article about how to improve a coin club he has some great suggestions. If you’re involved in a coin club, you’ll definitely want to take a look at these. If you’re not in one, go find a coin club to join so you can use these suggestions.

He uses each letter in the word Numismatics to frame the article.

N: New Members - How to attract new members, especially young ones (not necessarily YNs).

U: Uniqueness - What are you doing that other clubs are not, or, what aren’t you doing that successful clubs are?

M: Membership Retention - Once they are members, how do you keep them?

I: Interesting Items for Newsletters - Your club newsletter is your prime link to your members

S: Stimulate - To stimulate your members, potential members and your community by publicity on your club in newspapers, bulletins, etc.

M: Motivation - What are you doing to make the members want to come back to the meetings?

A: Activity - Are your meetings always the same? Become an active, innovative club!

T: Team - To encourage participation from all members in some way, so they will feel part of the team.

I: Informational handouts about your club - Let people know who you are, where you meet, etc.

C: Coin Shows and Conventions - Are you taking full advantage of them?

S: Sons and daughters; neighborhood kids - the “YN Connection” - How can we get young people interested in numismatics and get them to attend the meetings?

1. What is the lowest denomination US coin? Answer Half cent

2. Is a BIE error an example of a planchet, die or striking error? Answer Die

3. What is the term for the severe polishing of a coin designed to artificially “improve” its grade? Answer Whizzing

4. What is a wampum? Answer Beads made from clam, conch or similar shells used as money by North American Indians

5. How is the US Mint budgeted, on a calendar year or fiscal year basis? Answer Fiscal year basis