Coins struck on the wrong or incorrect planchets are a favourite among error collectors. In the Australian coin series wrong planchet errors are one the toughest error types to find and many collections lack an example. However, there’s one exception that is more affordable and common, the 2 cent struck on a 1 cent planchet. You can see an example of this particular error above -this one dated 1988. When the Royal Australian Mint was striking 2 cent coins with the Maklouf portrait for Australia’s bicentennial year the 2 cent blank supply was contaminated with 1 cent blanks. Exactly how many of those 1 cent blanks found their way into the wrong place is unknown but we suspect it’s in the dozens.

Why do we suspect that many? Two reasons. The first, as we keep an eye on the error coin market we see these 1988 2c wrong planchet errors come up for sale reasonably often. You almost always see one in a public auction with a decent error coin session. Also, as we’re always watching error coin sales on the secondary markets such as eBay and various social media channels we see them come up at the rate of one or two a month. That’s proof enough to us that there are quite a few extant examples.

The second reason we suspect there’s several dozen examples of this particular error has less solid evidence to back it up but it’s interesting none the less and perhaps a little piece of Australian coin folklore. The story goes that in the first decade of this century a certain coin dealer in Melbourne purchased a roll (or rolls) of 2 cent coins that included multiples of these wrong planchet errors. The coin dealer would have one of the coins for sale in their cabinet, and when it sold would watch the happy buyer leave the shop before reaching under the counter and removing another of the errors from their roll and putting that up for sale at the same price. Whether it’s true or not we’re not sure, but it’s a great story. Funnily enough one of the authors of this blog purchased their Maklouf portrait wrong planchet 2 cent error from the very same dealer in Melbourne in 2006. Right around the time that the story above is supposed to have taken place.

If you’re looking to purchase one of these desirable wrong planchet errors there are two main things to look at. The first is grade, look for the best grade you can afford showing the most amount of mint red. The example at the top of this article is full red with an unfortunate fingerprint, obviously the fingerprint makes the coin less desirable. But compare that with the coin imaged below which is toned red brown without a detracting fingerprint. Some collectors would prefer the full red example, while others would find the fingerprint too distracting and choose the Red-Brown example. Fussier people may choose to wait for a superior specimen to appear on the market. The second factor to consider with these coins is the visibility of the date. The first coin pictured clearly shows the date, while the second does not. You can see the bottom loops of the date but there is a bit of uncertainty. We’ve seen examples of this error with no trace of the date at all. With no date there is less information and certainty as to the exact nature of the coin and error, lack of certainty with regard to error coins generally means less value. For example, which would you rather purchase “a 1988 2c struck on a 1c planchet” or “a 2c on a 1c planchet date uncertain ranging from 1985 to 1991”. The answer is obvious.

Don’t look past the most crucial identification of the error, weigh the coin to see that it is the weight of a 1 cent piece 2.59g (or it may be that the coin is a different error or just damaged) and being underweight for a 2 cent we’d expect to see weakness in the strike and/or metal flow such fishtailing of the design -obvious fishtailing seen in the close-up image of the date above and the obverse legends on the coin below.

Summing up, the 1988 2c on 1c planchet is the most affordable example of a wrong planchet error in the Australian decimal series. Other wrong planchet errors typically sell for multiples of what this error would sell for. As always purchase the best example you can find, looking at mint red and detracting marks in particular. And make sure there’s a visible date, having a coin whose origins are obvious is always going to be an easier coin to sell when it comes time to divest yourself of it.

Early decimal mint sets were held in PVC wallets with pockets for each coin and those could easily be interchanged. In 1984 the Royal Australian Mint moved to a bubble type of packaging where each coin had its’ own blow moulded space incorporated into a card which opened revealing the well presented coin set. It didn’t take long for a mishap to occur with the first wrong coin in a set turning up in the 1986 mint sets. The coins should have all been 1986 dated but the 10 cent piece was from the previous year (see above).

The popularity of the mint set was increasing with the Mint churning out higher volumes each year which likely led to this error occurring. Mint controller Mr J B Joslin confirmed the existence of the 1985 10c coin in the 1986 set and said the error occurred in the packing room.

“Simply, a tray containing 1985 ten cent pieces destined for normal circulation was accidently mixed with trays of 1986 coins earmarked for the 1986 sets…..The error was picked up early and most of these sets were stopped before they left the mint”

The error sets were first identified in mid-1986 and collectors began checking their sets very closely. Soon after it was reported that collectors returned 3 sets to Ringwood Stamps and Coins after they were upset that their new sets didn’t feature the first commemorative dollar, the peace dollar, but had 1985 Mob of Roos dollars inserted instead. Yet another packaging mistake by the Mint.

Today a regular 1986 mint set might fetch $15, and the error mint set with the wrong dated 10 cent coin, $200. A much better return on the $4.50 it cost to purchase the set originally. Since that first error set there have been quite a few mishaps within the packaging room at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Both proof sets and mint sets can be found with wrong coins but these are just packaging errors and don’t contain coins you couldn’t get elsewhere. If you are looking to purchase a set be sure to have a very close look at the packaging to ensure it hasn’t been tampered with to swap coins. Perhaps the the most exciting “multi-date” set is the set that contains a coin that doesn’t exist elsewhere, the 2005 proof Mob of Roos dollar in the 2006 proof set.

For the past 10 years people have been finding in their change the Aussie 5 cent piece with the Queen’s head on both sides -a so-called ‘double header‘. This came about when two head side dies were placed into the coin press and coins were struck. But was this accidental or on purpose?

I’m not sure we’ll ever know if devious behaviour (mint sport) was to blame or it was a mere mistake with huge consequences. Initially only a few were found but in the last few years more and more have surfaced leading to the idea that there could be thousands of these error coins in circulation. As the word trickled through to collectors more and more coin noodlers fossicked bulk lots searching for the coin with 2 heads. Previously thought of as a needle in a haystack find, I’d say today, look through bulk coins and you have a reasonable chance of finding one.

They are very easily overlooked. Glancing at bulk coins it won’t easily stick out like a mule, a collector coin that’s been spent or a mis-strike. You have to search more carefully noting each side as a head. When you do find one don’t jump for joy too hastily, a double header coin is easily faked. Boring or grinding out the tails side of a coin, grinding down the tails side of another and joining the two together is the most common type of fake. The following is what you need to check to help determine the authenticity of your double headed 5c coin.

1. What is the weight? If two coins have been joined it’s not likely the weight will match a genuine coin. An Australian 5 cent piece weighs 2.83 grams. A small tolerance is within specification but if the weight is grossly higher or lower then you might not have a genuine error.

2. Do the dates match? Double headed coins that have been found are all dated 2007 on both sides. Having different dates is an indicator the error is a fake.

3. 180 degree rotation. The opposing side will be struck exactly 180 degrees upset or rotated. This means one side will appear completely upside down. This is a result of how the dies are inserted into the coin press and an indicator of a genuine error.

4. Use magnification. Look closely at the rims on both sides to see if there is indication that 2 separate coins have been joined. If two halves have been glued together then you have an interesting but not valuable magicians coin. This is post mint damage and it is illegal to deface currency.

Turning 5 cents into $500 or more sounds like a great idea but handling lots and lots of very small coins needs patience and good light. These errors have sold for hundreds up to thousands of dollars (for higher grade examples). If you are looking to purchase one of these coins look for PCGS graded examples to ensure authenticity. I would avoid coins in APCGS slabs as the error may not be genuine as outlined above.

The Royal Australian Mint struck 59,036,000* 5 cent pieces dated 2007, it’s quite possible thousands of these double headed coins exist -it’s up to you to find them!

*Royal Australian Mint financial reports 2006-7,2007-8 and 2008-9

Above you can see a stunning 1974 5 cent that has a second strike about 75% off centre from the first. Keen observers will also note that the second strike on the obverse shows part of the 5 cent reverse design. The second strike on the reverse by contrast, shows some remnants of the first strike but is largely blank. This peculiar appearance is quite distinct from what is a normal off centre double strike such as the 2008 or 2009 double struck $2 coins that first appeared a few years ago. The second strike on those $2 coins is an off-centre duplicate of the first, obverse to obverse and reverse to reverse.

What can we learn from the appearance of the second strike? Firstly, with the second strike showing reverse design elements on the obverse of the first strike we’re looking at what is known as a “flip over double strike”. Which is exactly as it sounds, the coin has flipped over in between the first and second strikes. Secondly, the relative lack of features in the double struck region on the reverse of the coin indicates that there was a coin blank in between the error coin and the reverse die when the second strike occurred. Having been struck the second time with another coin blank in the die press means the second strike was a much higher pressure than a normal strike, and this has completely obliterated all evidence of the initial strike on the obverse (LIZABETH). Compare this with the double struck $2 coins mentioned earlier where evidence of the second strike is usually quite obvious in the double struck regions of the coin due to the lower pressure of the second strike.

It is worth considering what the other coin this error was struck against might look like. It will have a crescent shaped indentation on the reverse, and within that indentation there might be a partial brockage impression of the obverse of this coin. Actually it might look something like the coin below:

Of course the year is wrong and it’s not the actual coin that mates with our 1974 flip over double struck error above, but that’s pretty much what the other coin would look like, it is of course an indent error. Indent errors and off center double struck errors like the coin we’re talking about here fit together to form what is known as a “saddle strike”. Decimal indent errors are rare, off center double struck coins rarer again, and having a matched pair as a saddle strike is almost unheard of. We’ve heard of less than 5 matched saddle strike pairs in the last 15 years and never actually seen one in hand to be able to take an image of one. That’s how rare they are. The best we can offer is the image below, of a 10 cent saddle strike pair that appeared on eBay 4 years ago. These are the seller’s images and credit must go to that person for them.

There you have it, an off center flip over double struck 5 cent from 1974. Extremely desirable and a fine addition to any error collection. And one half of a pair of errors that would be the magnificent centre piece of error types.