1912 1 cent error, new member, need advice 0

[Eric Lapointe]

I've had this 1912 one cent wheat penny in my collection for years now I've been meaning to send it to you guys to have it authenticated and graded but never got around to it but further research has showed that I could have quite a rare coin. I'm new to sending coins in to have them graded I'm willing to pay whatever the cost as long as it's going to work out in my favor there's many options to pick from I just want to make sure that I'm not seeing things! I have done some research and saw that there was a 1946 penny struck onto a canceled 1/4 Indian rupee that has the same sort of diamond checkered design, until recently I thought it was just damage from over the years but after staring at it for many many hours I'm almost 100% positive that this is an error coin and you can almost make out some other design that was struck on to the coin unfortunately there is a lot of wear, I'm just not sure what to do with it or which service to select. Anyway thank you for any help or advice

[CrystalM CS]

Hello Eric, 

Thanks for reaching out to NGC. It looks like you have an interesting coin on your hands. Unfortunately, it would be extremely difficult to authenticate a coin from photos alone and we would need to receive the coin in house to tell anything about it. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding the submission process. Thank you. 

[Just Bob]

Welcome to the forum, Eric. Sorry to burst your bubble, but your first instincts were correct. Your cent is damaged. From the pattern, it looks like the damage was caused by the jaws of a bench vise. 

What does the obverse look like?

And. do you have a link to the information about the cent struck on the rupee?

Never mind. I found it.

https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/5364/

Edited March 17, 2023 by Just Bob

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.      

    The 1964 Lincoln cent struck over the cancelled Indian coin (likely through deliberate action by mint employees who then smuggled it out of the Philadelphia mint) shows clear traces of words and design details from the host coin that can be matched to this specific coin issue, as well as the cancellation pattern. It was also struck on the silver colored planchet (blank) for that original coin, not a bronze planchet such as that used for a wheat cent, and was in nearly uncirculated condition.  Your well-worn and bent wheat cent shows none of these characteristics.  Note also that the punch marks are less worn than the rest of the coin, indicating that they were made after the coin had circulated for some time. In my opinion and based on your photos of only the reverse, the coin is clearly just damaged by a vice or other tool or machinery and has no collector value.

   To learn how to submit coins to NGC, go to the NGC home page (www.ngccoin.com) and review the topics under the "Submit" tab.  Requesting error attribution of a coin involves the payment of an additional $18 fee, which NGC would retain whether or not the coin is attributed as an error, as well as the payment of a grading fee ($23 or $40 depending upon whether "economy" or "standard" tier is chosen), a $10 per order processing fee, and $28 return shipping and insurance, as well your own shipping costs.  It is extremely unlikely that it would "work out in [your] favor."