PCGS Coin of the Issue

Th e 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent is one of the most famous of all doubled dies. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView.

Another often-found variation is the fl ip-over doublestrike. Th is type of double-strike occurs when the coin is struck then fl ips over and is struck again. Th ese are much scarcer than regular double-strikes, as it takes an unusual set of circumstances for a coin to fl ip over between strikes. Flipover double-strikes usually are worth 50-100% more than regular double-strikes that did not fl ip over.

Doubled dies are sometimes confused with double-strikes by new collectors, but they are not related. Visually, doubled dies and double strikes have some similarities at a glance, but that is where the commonality ends. A doubled die is a variety, meaning it is a variation on the die itself. Th e doubled die “mistake” is in how the die was created.

A die goes through a hubbing process, in which a hub (raised image of the design) is pressed into a blank cylinder of steel to become a die. Th is is usually done multiple times in order to create the sunken design of the coin in the die. If there is a slight shift between hub impressions into the die, or if there is any sort of movement in the designs during the hubbing process, a doubled die will result. Any coins struck from that die will then show that doubled image. Doublestrikes, on the other hand, occur (as described earlier in this article) as a result of the die striking the planchet more than once. Although similar, these are two totally diff erent mint mistakes.

Collecting double-strikes can be done by getting an example of each type of double-strike, or simply by collecting a double-strike for each date for a series of coins (for example, fi nding a Lincoln Memorial Cent with a double-strike for each year from 1959 through 2008.) Some coin series, particularly those that are made of a precious metal such as silver or gold, are usually very scarce with double-strikes. Finding a doublestruck silver Washington Quarter (1932-1964) is very diffi cult, and very few are known. Gold coin double-strikes are very rare, and only a handful are known on U.S. coins. Copper, clad, or similar inexpensive metals are much more common with double-strikes and are the best choice for a collector on a budget.

Jon Sullivan is a dealer in mint error coins, with over 20 years of experience as a specialist in mint error coins under the company name Sullivan Numismatics and dealing primarily through the website www.sullivannumismatics. com. He also is the PCGS attributer and authenticator for mint error coins, providing authentication and attribution expertise.