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.
Unique German Mark Indented by a 20 Pfennig Planchet
This unique 1876 German silver 1 Mark was indented by a 20 Pfennig planchet with a diameter of 16 mm. It was authenticated and certified MS 63 by NGC. I cannot recall any other pre-1900 German coin that was indented by a smaller planchet.
U.S. and world coins that have been indented by smaller denomination planchets are very scarce. This is especially true on older type coins. A great example of this is an 1860 New Orleans Seated Half Dollar that was indented by a Half Dime planchet. It is part of a mated pair with the other coin being a Half Dollar struck on a Half Dime planchet. Both were certified by PCGS as a mated pair.
It is possible that the mate to this unique German mint error, an 1876 1 Mark struck on a 20 Pfennig planchet, was also accidentally released by the mint and if ever found, would create a spectacular mated pair, just like the Seated Half Dollar and Half Dime.
Here is a rendering of what the missing mate
to this indent would look like:
