MINTERROR NEWS.COMTM
Bringing the latest mint error news to the collector. Also featuring Die Trials, Patterns, Test Pieces, Numismatic Rarities, Currency Errors and Discoveries from the U.S. Mint.
news  •  features  •  discoveries
aboutcontactresourceshome

Features

The Only Known Foreign Coin Struck
On a U.S. Wartime Nickel Planchet

obvspacerev

Considered to be the only known foreign coin
struck on a U.S. Wartime Nickel Planchet!

indentThis is a discovery coin and is unique. It is a Bolivia 1942 50 Centavos struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia on a U.S. Wartime Nickel planchet!

indentIn 2009, Mint Error News reported this discovery in an article written by Timothy D. Ziebarth, Ph.D., who discovered this unique off-metal. The article describes the fascinating path that he had to take in order to get it properly attributed by NGC.

indentOriginally it was misattributed by Heritage Auctions as part of a 3-coin lot of raw Bolivian coins in their 2007 sale of the Whittier Collection. When it was first submitted to NGC, it was also misattributed, this time as struck on a Bolivia 20 Centavos planchet.

indentDr. Ziebarth then spent the next year researching this mint error. He analyzed the Mint Error News article Foreigner's In The Mint which included a 69 page report on foreign coins struck by the U.S. Mint. He attended multiple coin shows, asking dealers for their opinions. David Lange, the research director for NGC, assisted him with information. Ken Krah, the Vice President of NGC (at the time) accepted the submission from Dr. Ziebarth and proceeded to conduct a non-destructive Semi-Quantitative X-Ray analysis to determine the composition.

The lab results concluded that this unique mint error was indeed struck on a U.S. Wartime Nickel Planchet and NGC subsequently revised their description.

Lab Analysis:

Copper: 57.5%
Silver: 36.3%
Rhodium: 5.7%
Iron: 0.4%

indentThis is one of the most interesting numismatic stories about how a unique mint error, that was previously unknown and misattributed twice, is now recognized as being Struck on a U.S. Wartime Nickel Planchet. It is unique and a fascinating part of numismatics.

indentWartime Mint Errors from 1942-1945 are among the most coveted and sought after by mint error collectors. Obviously the most famous are the 1943 copper Lincoln Cents that sell for $300,000 and the 1944 steel Lincoln Cents that sell for $50,000 to $100,000. Even a 1943 Lincoln cent struck on a Curacao 25 Centstukken planchet sold in a Heritage auction for $31,200. There are only a handful of world coins struck on U.S. planchets known during this wartime period. This Bolivia 50 Centavos struck on a U.S. Wartime Nickel Planchet is not only unique on its own, but also considered to be the only known foreign coin struck on a U.S. Wartime Nickel Planchet.

obv

rev


Mint Error News has a 69 page report of coins struck by the U.S. Mint for foreign countries. It is the most comprehensive report available anywhere and was used to identify this unique mint error. Click here for a PDF of the 69 page report.


Foreigners In The Mint



Here is the original article by Dr. Ziebarth
that appeared in Mint Error News Issue 27:



Story of the Bolivia 1942 50 Centavos Struck at the
Philadelphia Mint on US Wartime Nickel Planchet


by Timothy D. Ziebarth, Ph.D.
ANA# 3130037

spaceI am an advanced collector of Foreign Coins Minted at United States Mints. Of the approximately 950 issues (not counting varieties) for 41 countries that have been minted by US Mints in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver, New Orleans and West Point since 1875 as authorized by the Act of Congress January 29, 1874, I have managed to add to my collection all but 31, 11 of which are modern (post 1964) and 7 of which may not exist, leaving 13 yet to find. Most examples in the collection are high-grade, including several of the finest known.

spaceIn 2006, Heritage offered a number of fine and rare examples of these coins in their June 2 Whittier Collection of Latin American Coinage, Auction #410. Included in that auction was Lot# 16308 of 3 raw coins, whose description read:

spaceRepublic 50 Centavos 1942 - Three Varieties, KM182a.1, original strike in bronze, nice BU and original strike in silver, choice BU and the only reported example, and KM182a.2, restrike with less distinct strike, nice BU.

spaceHaving both bronze issues, the KM182a.1 "original" (meaning Philadelphia) and the KM182a.2 LaPaz minted restrike, in my collection was appealing especially because they appeared to be very high grade. The "original strike in silver, choice BU and the only reported example" was intriguing: Krause lists only one Pattern as "Pn57 1942 — 50 Centavos. Silver. Struck at LaPaz. KM#182a.1," and I assumed this was perhaps that coin.

spaceI won the Lot, and instructed Heritage to have these coins sent directly to NGC for certification, as many of the already certified coins in the auction were encapsulated with the "Whittier Collection" attribution on the slab label, and I wanted the same labeling on these coins.

spaceWhen I received the coins from NGC, I was surprised to find that both bronze examples were in fact Philadelphia minted; both had plain edges. (The LaPaz restrike has a reeded edge.) I was even more surprised to see the "silver" example labeled "1942 4.9G Bolivia 50C Struck ON 20C PLANCHET MINT ERROR MS65."

spaceWhile I was delighted with the grade of MS65, I was somewhat disappointed that this coin was apparently a Copper-Nickel planchet error, and not the anticipated silver Pattern coin KM-Pn57.

spaceOver the course of the next year, I looked at the coin a number of times and was continually struck by the color; it appeared much more brilliant and "silvery" than any C/N alloy coin I had ever seen. Referring to Greg Mirsky's wonderful work on mint errors caused by having both Foreign and Domestic coins being made in the same US Mint at approximately the same time (see Mint Error News Magazine, Vol I, Issue II, page 16), and Krause World Coins 2006 Edition, it was apparent that something about NGC's attribution of this coin was amiss. There was no "20C" (I assumed NGC meant "cent," "cenavo," "centesimo," or perhaps "centime") or any other denomination produced for any Foreign Country within several years of 1942 that had a 4.9 gram C/N planchet.

spaceI took the coin (now NGC slabbed) to the CSNS Show in St. Louis in May, 2007 and showed it to a number of error dealers, including Fred Weinberg. I asked each one two questions: 1. had they ever seen a coin like this one, and 2. did the coin appear to be Copper-Nickel alloy, or Silver. The responses to 1. were unanimously "NO," and to the second question I received about a 50:50 split between C/N and Silver.

spaceAt the same show, I presented the coin to Mr. David Lange, Research Director, who was representing NGC at their booth. He agreed something may be amiss; the coin appeared clearly to be struck on an undersized planchet, and that the planchet did not appear to be Copper-Nickel. Mr. Lange suggested I contact NGC directly and have them re-look at the coin.

spaceOn the flight back to Denver, I was still mulling over the problem when that proverbial "light bulb" went on. I had looked extensively at what other Foreign planchets may have been floating around the Philadelphia mint in 1942 (and for years before that, as an old planchet may have been lost in the machinery for years), but I had NOT looked at what US coins may have been on-site at the time. A quick look at the Redbook told me all I needed to know: of course we were minting 5 cent coins containing the "War" alloy of 56% copper, 35% Silver and 9% Manganese. Precisely a 5 gram planchet with a "not C/N and not Silver" appearance! The Bolivia 1942 50 centavo coin was specified to be minted with a 5.5 gram, 24.3 mm diameter planchet whereas the US War nickel used a 5.0 gram planchet with a 21.1 mm diameter.

spaceWorking directly with Ken Krah, Vice-President of NGC, via Email, I was invited to send him the coin directly. I described the issue to him, and my suspicion that in fact the con was struck on a War Nickel planchet, and requested that NGC perform non-destructive analysis of the coin to perhaps solve the mystery. This they promptly did, with the Semi-Quantitative X-Ray analysis by Ledoux & Company of Teaneck, NJ coming back as:

Copper: 57.5%
Silver: 36.3%
Rhodium: 5.7%
Iron: 0.4%

spaceAlthough the reported content of Rhodium and Iron might be disconcerting, being a Chemist and having managed an independent testing laboratory myself in the 1970's, I knew that this type of analysis was a) truly semi-quantitative (a few % error was not unusual without a known equivalent alloy as a reference), and b) mis-assignment of minor elements is common due to overlapping emissions from major elements. The key results were, or course, that the alloy was principally Copper and Silver, and not Copper and Nickel, in the proper proportions for the US Wartime 5 cent issues. To put a final "nail in the coffin", I may elect to ask Ledoux to re-inspect their X-Ray results to see if in fact the Rhodium/Iron identification could have been misconstrued from and actual Manganese component, or I may send them an actual US War Nickel to see if the same mis-assignment for these two minor compositional elements is made.

spaceNonetheless, NGC agreed with this overall conclusion, and re-encapsulated the coin with its proud new attribution as:

1942 BOLIVIA 50C ON US 5C BLANK 4.9G
MINT ERROR MS 65
WHITTIER COLLECTION

spaceIt stands as the only, and therefore finest known example, of error. This unique coin now hold a prominent place in my collection. I learned that tracking down a proper attribution for an error coin can be stimulating, fun and rewarding, that it takes dogged perseverance, but that sometimes even the experts need help from private collectors. It's truly a grand experience, pleasure and privilege when even an avid collector can actually act and feel like a numismatist. Error collecting presents this opportunity at almost every turn!













Off-Metal Errors are featured in
my NLG Award winning book,
World's Greatest Mint Errors.


covercover

cover



space
divider

Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
blank
Banner
Copyright Ⓒ 2024 minterrornews.com. All rights reserved. Legal notice.