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Haney's Blog

29 Sep 2022

FREAK SHOW 1968 – XXI

Coins | Haney

Well as I have been on a roll with my little band of Washington misfits, let us continue with two new performers one from the city of brotherly love and the other from the mile high city, strange I had to look the latter up despite having traveling thru there several times.  These two chaps are a little on the skinny side weighing in at 4.6 and 4.7 grams respectively due to the fact they are short some covering.  At some point in the process they both showed up to the coin press missing a layer of nickel that typically hides a wonderful layer of copper.  Furthermore not only did they show up half dressed, but they both landed heads up prior to receiving their die impressions.  So this way both the date and the error are together for your appreciation and more importantly mine.  Not to say I do not have examples of particular irregularity in other denominations that is best appreciated by the reverse but those are just place holders, hopefully Franklin did not hear that, until I can find the numbers 1, 9, 6, and 8 on the copper side.  Both of my fiends are graded uncirculated though visually the Philadelphia example has a lot of fire left whereas the Denver example has reached a warm red brown, if you’re a train nut it approximates mineral brown.  Surprisingly both struck up rather well despite the reduction in volume of metal to work with, though the eagle is much sharper on the piece from the mother mint.

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19 Sep 2022

FREAK SHOW 1968 – XX

| Haney

Today I invite you to gaze upon a curiosity I mentioned while describing my last FREAK.  Up until the truncated bust of Washington arrived this member of my cast held the coveted title of being my one and only example of an off center 1968 quarter.  Still I think this ODDITY was more a product of a planchet defect than simply a blank not arriving in the coining chamber as its creator had intended.  It would seem to me if you could wind the clock back before the die came crashing down on the DEFECTIVE planchet I suspect it would have never been able to fall into the coining chamber.  It just seems that the planchet when cut from the edge of strip of coining metal it had enough excess to exceed the diameter of the slot it was intended.  Then again I could be all wrong and its IRREGULATIY is just due to how a straight clip allowed the metal to flow without being confined by the coining collar as designed.  A possible strong point in support of this latter argument is the fact the piece only weighs 4.7 grams in lieu of the 5.67 grams noted in the redbook for a standard, yes I almost wrote normal but now normal has a negative connotation go figure, copper nickel issue of this year.  So doing a quick check on the math based upon the 20% clip noted on its plastic captor the weight should be 4.536 grams, which is not that far off from its actual weight.  So I may be wrong about how my little FIEND was created or maybe I am right.  Maybe someday someone can run a computer simulation or better yet create a time machine so I may one day know for sure how my possession came to be. That said it is the mystery that makes this oddly shaped menagerie of pieces so delightfully interesting.

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06 Sep 2022

FREAK SHOW 1968 – XIX

Coins | Haney

I find myself today pondering another season of FREAK SHOW 1968 and frankly I am not quite finding myself in the spirit.  Not to say it has not been a good year for finding new members to join my crew of FREAKS.  Though many were the rarest of oddities found in the guise of Proof, and attributed more often than not to the house of Weinberg.  I did throw my hand up on a few of these though sadly they were destine to reside with larger groups that my little menagerie.  Lamenting those that got away is easy as I have no proof oddities at the moment so no need to pursue more.  If you do not understand my last statement I will just refer you to an excellent book on this, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  Yes it is a children’s book, but I believe it taps into the inner MONSTER in most of us bitten by the collecting bug.  I have to say biggest reason for my lack of enthusiasm is it has just been plain hot this summer in Texas. Yes I know I live in Texas so stop your whining kid for, THE SHOW MUST GO ON! 

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