Newbie quality control question 1 1

[CREDTO51]

I was educating myself on the values of errors as compared to quality coin grades. Then ran across this paired set of pennies. 
I instantly wondered, was this a mint employee creation, or production keepsake ? 
My reasoning was it would never fit in a penny roll for distribution, right?
Any mint workers on the chat board, thanks Tom 

[dprince1138]

Have you tried to google the mint protocols?  I imagine that some simply fall through the mechanical size validation and spot checking.  I know that in the IT chip industry in the 80s, the assembly line only manually QC'd 1 in 5.  When a complaint was made, the chip (or device) would be refurbished) and put back onto the market.

Twice, I have found off strike pennies in my change.  Off strike nickles that I have purchased seem to sell for about $25.

Edited November 13, 2023 by dprince1138

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 11/13/2023 at 5:23 AM, CREDTO51 said:

I was educating myself on the values of errors as compared to quality coin grades. Then ran across this paired set of pennies. 
I instantly wondered, was this a mint employee creation, or production keepsake ? 
My reasoning was it would never fit in a penny roll for distribution, right?
Any mint workers on the chat board, thanks Tom 

The mint distributes coins in large bulk storage bags, you need a forklift to move them. It's probably a legit error, not purposefully created, when, where and how it was found... 

[Greenstang]

The mint run their coin presses at high speed and quantity gives priority over quality.   
Any errors, as they are usually a one off, would not probably be noticed until the coins
were bagged and send out for distribution.

[powermad5000]

Here is a link to the US Mint Production processes.

https://www.usmint.gov/learn/production-process/coin-production

Here is a quote from that article :

A circulating coin press strikes 750 coins per minute. The Philadelphia Mint produces 47,250 coins per minute if all of its 63 presses are operational. The Denver Mint makes 40,500 coins per minute with its 54 coin presses. That results in millions of circulating coins each day.

 

I am not a mint employee but, I have learned that the stopping of the press is the last thing the Mint wants to happen because every minute of downtime basically "causes them losses". At this rate of speed, many things can go wrong in the process. If a struck coin is not ejected, and another coin is fed into the chamber, this can be the result. The mint employee is not going to stop production unless something "catastrophic" happens such as a die splitting in half or the hammer die falling out, or the press jams.

Any errors will make their way into the bins at the end of the press and also be bagged up with the rest of the production of the run. Some things are not found until the bags are opened and coins are rolled for distribution. 

As for error values, being each error is unique, but can be "grouped" so to speak as far as type : off center, broadstruck, lamination, misaligned die, clipped planchet, etc. The value depends on many factors such as the type of error, severity of error, and condition of the coin after the error was produced. It is very difficult to pin down even a general range of figures for errors as all these factors come into play along with the ultimate factor of demand. For example, a 10% struck off center cent is not going to get as much as a 70% struck off center cent. A 70% struck off center cent where the date is missing is not going to get as much as a 70% struck off center cent where the date is visible. A 70% struck off center cent with the date visible is not going to get as much as the mated pair cent you posted. My basic rule of thumb for errors is, in laymens terms, the more wild the error is the more it is gonna get.

Also, error collecting is more of a "niche" in the hobby. There are many collectors who view errors as "damaged" and only want or collect coins of the best strike and finest quality and view errors as something that the Mint should have destroyed. And for error collectors themselves, some view a small clip in a planchet as "yawn bore" and only look for more spectacular errors such as that mated pair.

Edited November 13, 2023 by powermad5000

[Sandon]

   The "Redbook" (2023 standard edition, p. 440) states that "[e]arly in 2002 the mint changed their [sic] production methods to a new system designed to eliminate deformed planchets, off-center strikes, and similar errors. . .. Under the new system, coins are packaged in large quantities and go directly to automated counters that filter out deformed coins. The result is that very few error coins have entered the market since late 2002, and almost none after that date."  

[EagleRJO]

On 11/13/2023 at 5:23 AM, CREDTO51 said:

I instantly wondered, was this a mint employee creation, or production keepsake ? 
My reasoning was it would never fit in a penny roll for distribution, right?

There are a few errors or varieties such as some of the mules where it is believed by some to have resulted from "mint mischief" by a bored midnight shift crew, but I can't imagine the OC second strike you mentioned was intentional.

I believe at that time the mint simply filled large mint bags, such as a bag for $50 of cents like the attached, from large bins at coining presses by using an accurate large scale.  So if just one coin, or in this case a pair of coins, had an error like that it may not be discovered at the mint, and was part of the reason for the changes Sandon noted.  It was probably discovered at a bank or by a "bag hunter" when going through that since there is a corresponding pair.