An Error Coin...And An Error Digging

[Gimmie The Loot]

Great write up. Enjoyed the story and the pictures. Congrats on the coins. A couple of my largies have rotated reverse as well. I read it was pretty common on large cents. Not sure it adds to any value but it is definitely interesting.

Wish my largies looked as nice as yours!

[Tpmetal]

congrats that thing is in great condition for a largie!

[Wolf-Dog]

That's a really neat find! Congratulations!

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by DougF View post
Great finds and write-up. I think the rotated dies were a little more common in the early days of the mint, but that's a great find and in very nice shape, too. Pictures are nice, too.

Thanks Doug! Yes, that’s what I’m learning, too - Matron Heads were the Largie variety that was most likely to have a rotated die error. Not that it’s super common - just not super rare, either. Still, I love being able to add a neat error coin to my collection!

Originally Posted by ToySoldier View post
Large cents, Indian Head cents, and relics sound good to me. Silver would be a nice bonus of course. Condolences on Liberty's scar, especially on a nicer early one. Pound that place before construction and just maybe you'll be able to get on that property once they start scraping and otherwise moving the dirt around.

Thanks TS! I’m still not completely over that scar! IHPs in that condition and age are rarities I definitely plan to keep hunting that site as long as possible. Nothing will happen for a little while yet - they’re still making their way through planning commission meetings, and the property hasn’t changed hands yet, so I imagine I have at least through Spring, maybe longer. But yes, I’ll absolutely approach the site manager once construction/scraping starts!

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Tom_in_CA View post
Large cents. Reveal pix. Error coins. Sick sick sick

At least it didn’t come out of a tot-lot! ...Maybe next week

[Rattlehead]

Wow man that is super cool! What a killer find! Congrats!

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by markinswpa View post
Awesome hunt Ben, nice report as well. That was fine save on the LC. She's a beauty. Congrats on your new oldest coin. You notice alot of LC's been posted lately ? Sorry about Ihp,I did the same to a nice 1909 Barber quarter. Hope the weather holds for you guys up there. Good luck Mark

Thanks Mark! It sure was a fun hunt - that Largie was a nice surprise, better than the quarter I thinking! Now that you mention it - there have been a few posted lately, haven’t there...you just got a nice one just a couple weeks ago, too!

Sorry to hear about that ‘09 Barber Q...that would pain my heart too. Someone needs to invent a good rubber shovel

Originally Posted by Skwerly View post
how cool! what wonderful finds and that rotated die error is a nifty! shame about the field... i hope you can hit it hard before it goes the way of mcmansions!

Thanks Skwerly! It’s certainly my favorite Largie so far - just a neat coin with some cool extra character!

I’ll definitely be hunting that field more before the bulldozers hit for more suburban sprawl!

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by waltr View post
I need to re-check the LC's I've found. Never looked for rotated die error.

More great finds there Tango.
Also hope you can keep hitting that site.

Thanks waltr! That’s the first thing I did - checked all my previous LCs! Of course, it didn’t take very long....I only have 2 others They both had non-rotated backs.

I should have some more time to hit the site - I might have a couple weeks left this year before the ground freezes completely, plus I imagine it’ll be at least well into next year before any construction might start.

Originally Posted by davedude View post
Awesome hunt and great post Mr. Airmettango.

Thanks davedude!

Originally Posted by GroundSweeper View post
Man that’s just way cool! Congrats!

Thanks GS!

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Dan B. View post
It looks like you had a good time taking advantage of the soft ground. That is a nice looking lantern piece you found pretty much intact and not smashed. I also love the way that you displayed both sides of your large cent at the same time. Using your pretty pink and purple mirror. I know you're going to say that it belongs to your daughter but it's okay either way.

Your coppers always clean up so nice. I just dropped the link to my wife to order me a set of cleaning pencils for Christmas. Hopefully I'm on her good list.

Thanks Dan! What’s wrong with purple and pink?? Thinking about painting up my detector & pinpointer that way...They’ll be easy to see in long grass, and I seriously doubt anyone would ever steal ‘em

Hopefully she takes your hint for the Andre’s pencils - I really like using them for cooper and brass items. It takes a little practice to get comfortable with what they can and can’t do, but I’m always pleased with the results. I spent some time with Wheat pennies at first for practice, gaining confidence to move on to Indians, Largies, and other relics.

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Beachhunter View post
Great story and pics. Well Done!

Thanks Beachhunter! I appreciate you looking!

Originally Posted by ScubaDetective View post
Very nice read. Nice large cent also.

I call the indians conditon to be AG

About Gouged! Happens to us all

Thanks Scuba!

I prefer calling it MS-65...

Major Scarring, across 65% of the face

It won’t be the last time - but it still hurts a little each time, though

[Coinshark]

Originally Posted by jack&jill View post
Congrats on the Large and the Indian along with all the rest. Both those coins look to be in fantastic shape with great patina. Is the error common and does it add to the value? Trapper

More common in older coins. (Cents and nickels)
Anything over 15-degrees has added value.
Up to 5-degrees is acceptable by the Mint.

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by jack&jill View post
Congrats on the Large and the Indian along with all the rest. Both those coins look to be in fantastic shape with great patina. Is the error common and does it add to the value? Trapper

Thanks Trapper! Yes, the soil on this particular site is quite sandy, so it helps keep the corrosion at bay a little better! Unfortunately, yes, I seems rotated dies are a more common error type for Matron Head large cents especially. In this case it probably really doesn’t add much, if anything to the value. I’ve learned that rotated die errors are evaluated based on the degree of rotation, with 90 degrees or more being valued better. This one looks like 30 degrees, maybe 40. No worries, to me it’s a fantastic conversation piece, and a nice unique coin to have in my collection!

Edit:

Originally Posted by Coinshark View post
More common in older coins. (Cents and nickels)
Anything over 15-degrees has added value.
Up to 5-degrees is acceptable by the Mint.

Didn’t see this until after I posted above...thanks for the added info Coinshark!

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Soil Surgeon View post
Sweet finds and great photos congrats on your new oldest !

Thanks Soil Surgeon!

Originally Posted by Estima8tor View post
Wow,,,, They are very nice. Congratulations AirmetTango.

Indians seem to develop the nicest patina of all of the coppers.

I wish the soil here was kind to the coins like that. In SE Virginia they usually come out of the ground looking like a piece of pitted pot metal....
.

Thanks Estima8tor! Yes, I agree - in my opinion, Indians typically develop the prettiest, deepest patina of all the “copper” coins I’ve found. I’m not sure why that is, considering most Wheaties and Indians supposedly have the same 95% copper, 5% zinc & tin composition. Maybe it’s just a factor of time in the ground...just enough, but not too much?? A close second are Canadian King George VI cents from the 30s & 40s - I haven’t found a bad one of those yet, and all are a nice deep green (except the one I accidentally put through my tumbler ). Many of those are 98% copper, so that might be the reason.

But yeah, the biggest factor is probably just how kind the soil and Mother Nature is...pH, chemical application, animal poop, acid rain, etc...I’ve dug deep emerald green, beautifully detailed IHPs out of one field, then the next field they’re all hopelessly mottled and crusty. Sometimes I’ve each out of the same field

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Foragist View post
Nice to see you're still digging goods there! I almost feel sorry for you, about that digger damage, but it's hard to feel sorry for the guy who just dug that large cent! The mirror shot shows the off rotation nicely.

Originally Posted by ToySoldier View post
Yeah, I thought that was pretty clever.

Thanks Foragist! Yep, I knew sympathy was gonna be somewhat limited coupled with that Largie

I wish I could say I was smart enough to think of the mirror trick all by myself, but unfortunately I’m only clever enough to copy I saw a really pretty shot on a website while I was researching the rotated die errors - a coin artistically leaning up against a showcase quality mirror, perfectly revealing a 180° rotation on the back. The packing foam and my daughter’s frou-frou mirror was the best I could come up with to “improve” on the concept

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Vermonster View post
Couple of great finds! Congrats!

Thanks Vermonster!

Originally Posted by matmit View post
congratulations on the "non-silver" keepers!
Too bad you couldn't find a modern cent for the trifecta...

Thanks matmit! Oh, believe me, I tried!! I’ve actually pulled a few 1930s Wheaties out of the site - one on my previous visit to the site earlier in the week. It was really hard to leave the site when time was up, knowing I already had the hard part of a trifecta checked off I dragged my feet and delayed my progress back toward my car as much as I could get away with, but no luck. But I’ll bet I know what my first coin will be when I go back next

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Mike (CA) View post
Fantastic write up. Fantastic finds. Thank you AT! Always love your write ups. Those are awesome coins. Rough on the scratch, but, it happens. As you said, better to be scratched than have a house sit on her.

Thanks Mike, I really appreciate all of the kind words! I know it won’t be the last coin I scratch - I’m just hoping I can limit the damage to strictly Zincolns from now on

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Gimmie The Loot View post
Great write up. Enjoyed the story and the pictures. Congrats on the coins. A couple of my largies have rotated reverse as well. I read it was pretty common on large cents. Not sure it adds to any value but it is definitely interesting.

Wish my largies looked as nice as yours!

Thanks Gimmie! Yep, that’s what I’ve been learning as I read more about rotated die errors - more common on Matron Heads especially, for some reason. It seems that the more the rotation, the more likely that it could add to the value. But to me, the real value is having an interesting and unique old coin to add as a cherished find for my collection

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Tpmetal View post
congrats that thing is in great condition for a largie!

Thanks Tpmetal! The more sandy soil of this site helped a lot to keep corrosion to a minimum. All of the copper coins from this site have been remarkably clean - for the Indian, I literally just brushed away the residual dirt! No other cleaning was needed

Originally Posted by Wolf-Dog View post
That's a really neat find! Congratulations!

Thanks Wolf Dog!

[AirmetTango]

Originally Posted by Rattlehead View post
Wow man that is super cool! What a killer find! Congrats!

Thanks Rattlehead!

[waltr]

Originally Posted by AirmetTango View post
I should have some more time to hit the site - I might have a couple weeks left this year before the ground freezes completely, plus I imagine it’ll be at least well into next year before any construction might start.

Remember that if there is a cover of leaves on the ground, typical in wooded areas, this will insulate the ground and keep it from freezing.
I hit the wooded areas in winter when the ground elsewhere is frozen.

Originally Posted by AirmetTango View post
Thanks Estima8tor! Yes, I agree - in my opinion, Indians typically develop the prettiest, deepest patina of all the “copper” coins I’ve found. I’m not sure why that is, considering most Wheaties and Indians supposedly have the same 95% copper, 5% zinc & tin composition.

But yeah, the biggest factor is probably just how kind the soil and Mother Nature is...pH, chemical application, animal poop, acid rain, etc...I’ve dug deep emerald green, beautifully detailed IHPs out of one field, then the next field they’re all hopelessly mottled and crusty. Sometimes I’ve each out of the same field

I have found the same, great green color on most IHC's I find but some are badly corroded.