1921 Peace dollar reverse crack?

[Crohnos01]

I recently picked up a 1921 Peace Dollar. Upon closer inspection when I got it home, I found what at first I thought was a die crack on the reverse, however now I think it's actually a crack in the coin. (see the photos below, I put a yellow arrow on the one photo to show where the flaw is). So, two questions; first - is this indeed a crack in the coin? It doesn't appear to be raised like I understand a die crack to be. And second question; if it is indeed a crack in the coin, how does it affect the value of the coin? Did I do a bad thing in buying this one??

 

Any insight would be appreciated

 

 

[James_OldeTowne]

It's tough to judge from the images, but I suspect it may be a planchet lamination. However, fine die cracks or fissures are not at all uncommon for Peace dollars, and have no effect on value.

[cpm9ball]

It appears to run diagonally across the base of the third ray on the left (in your photo) in a northeast direction.

 

It looks like a lamination defect to me, too, but you can check the entire coin against the VAMWorld listings here........

 

http://www.vamworld.com/1921-P+Peace+VAMs

 

Chris

[Conder101]

I think it is probably a lamination.

[erwindoc]

I think you are in good shape on this one. Was it raw or graded?

[Crohnos01]

Thanks for the feedback. It is a raw coin that I picked up from a local dealer. I took it back when I saw this and asked if he knew what it was, but he didn't really know other than he was pretty sure it wasn't a die crack.. I wouldn't have even noticed it except some reading I was doing indicated that a die crack in this location had been noticed before on the 21peace dollars because they had a lot of trouble with the dies that first year. In my reading it didn't mention laminations. What exactly is a lamination?

[Crohnos01]

It appears to run diagonally across the base of the third ray on the left (in your photo) in a northeast direction.

 

It looks like a lamination defect to me, too, but you can check the entire coin against the VAMWorld listings here........

 

http://www.vamworld.com/1921-P+Peace+VAMs

 

Chris

 

Thanks for the link Chris! Wow....I am checking out the info there now...Excellent resource, thank you!

[cpm9ball]

What exactly is a lamination?

 

A lamination defect can be caused by gas trapped inside the metal or an improper alloy mix which causes the planchet to crack at a very shallow angle.

 

Chris

 

[Crohnos01]

Thanks Chris...as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and your photo pretty much shows what I have. In my case, the line isn't nearly so pronounced, but I agree it looks like the same thing.... I paid $125 for the coin so I was worried when I found this maybe I shouldn't have paid that much. But it sounds like a lamination doesn't affect value, so maybe I am ok.

[cpm9ball]

Since most lamination errors are usually one-of-a-kind or limited to a very few coins, it's possible you may have a "Discovery" VAM. I don't know if Leroy Van Allen will attribute a lamination error, but you might want to search the listings to see if this one has any "relatives".

 

Perhaps, John, aka messydesk, will chime in. He could probably tell you.

 

Chris

[mumu]

Is the coin AU? MS?

[messydesk]

VAM listings only cover attributes of the dies. Lamination errors are in the planchet, and therefore not considered. Whether the coin was a good deal or not depends on the grade.

[cpm9ball]

VAM listings only cover attributes of the dies. Lamination errors are in the planchet, and therefore not considered. Whether the coin was a good deal or not depends on the grade.

 

Good to know! Thanks, john.

 

Chris

[Crohnos01]

I have gotten to know my local dealer pretty well.... he's a pretty nice guy. In fact, he offered to buy back the coin if I was concerned about it when I brough it in. At any rate, he and I using the grading criteria in red book kind of fixed the coin at a EF-40 grade, which according to the book should sell I believe in the $160 range... I paied $125, so I am thinking I did ok, as long as the aformentioned flaw doesn't detract from the pricing.

 

Thanks for the information about the dies vs. lamination defects John. So since the VAM listings only cover die attributes and not planchet defects, I am assuming this is why it has a net zero impact of the value?

[cpm9ball]

So since the VAM listings only cover die attributes and not planchet defects, I am assuming this is why it has a net zero impact of the value?

 

Not necessarily! For example, if you were to list it on FleaBay, pointing out the C@@L planchet defect, all you would need is a couple of bidiots and there is no telling how high it could go.

 

Chris

[Crohnos01]

So since the VAM listings only cover die attributes and not planchet defects, I am assuming this is why it has a net zero impact of the value?

 

Not necessarily! For example, if you were to list it on FleaBay, pointing out the C@@L planchet defect, all you would need is a couple of bidiots and there is no telling how high it could go.

 

Chris

 

LMAO! So, basically since I am figuring there won't be social security for me in spite of the fact I have paid into the system for the last 35 years, I can count on a couple of mental parapalegics to give me top dollar on FleaBay for my "rare" laminate defect and keep me in Geritol for another month.... good to know!

[James_OldeTowne]

If you are going to add a 1921 Peace to your collection, why not have one with character? Personally, I enjoy stuff like that. It beats a boring collection where every coin is uber-graded slabbed and white... coin after coin after coin.