Search Results for: Collar mule

Collar Mules; Collar From Different Denominations

PART III. Die Installation Errors:

Mules:

Collar mules, collar from different denomination of

same or similar size installed

Definition: Collar mule: A coin is struck inside a collar intended for a different denomination of the same or similar size. The edge details will be visibly different, (e.g., smooth instead of reeded).

It pays to remember that three dies are involved in striking a coin – the hammer die, the anvil die, and the
collar. A mismatch between any of those three dies should qualify as a mule. The term “collar mule” has been chosen to identify those errors in which an incorrect collar from one denomination was installed in a press set up
to strike a different denomination. Of necessity, collar mules would be expected to occur between denominations of the same or closely similar size.

A hypothetical example of a collar mule would be a Sacagawea dollar struck on a Sac planchet by Sac dies but inside a reeded Susan B. Anthony collar. The logical counterpart would be a Susan B. Anthony dollar struck on an SBA planchet by SBA dies but inside smooth Sac collar.

Collar mules among U.S. coins have not been reported. Edge variations are common among world coins, but whether any are collar mules is unknown.

Mule: Die Lager Than Norm Die / Collar

PART III. Die Installation Errors:

Mules:

Mule die larger than normal die and collar

Definition: Mules are coins struck by mismatched dies.

The unique 1995 cent/dime mule struck on a dime planchet inside a dime collar fits this description.

A normal dime reverse die was employed as the anvil die, while a cent obverse die was employed as the hammer die. The striking of this mule must have been a noisy affair, as the periphery of the hammer die would have collided with the beveled entrance of the collar with each down-stroke.

Mules Two Different Countries

PART III. Die Installation Errors:

Mules:

Struck with Dies from Two Different Countries

Definition: Mules are coins struck by mismatched dies.

Some mules are purely accidental, and their release sometimes goes unnoticed until after thousands enter circulation. That’s the case with the (1967) New Zealand two cent mule shown below. The obverse mistakenly carries a Bahamas 5 cent design. Current estimates suggest at least 30,000 were released before mint officials realized what happened.

The Bahamas/New Zealand mule (1967) is one of the few to belong to this rare species of different denomination & different country. And yet, it is one of the best-known and most abundant mules. It pairs an incorrect Bahamas 5 cent (anvil/obverse) die with a correct New Zealand 2 cent (hammer/reverse) die. It was struck on a normal bronze New Zealand 2 cent planchet inside a 2 cent collar. A normal Bahamas 5 cent coin is composed of copper-nickel.

Mules Wrong Anvil Die

PART III. Die installation Errors:

Mules:

Wrong anvil die

Definition: Mules are coins struck by mismatched dies. In this case the wrong anvil die was installed in a coin press.

This Malaysian 10 sen mule was struck on a 10 sen planchet in a reeded 10 sen collar and carries a normal 10 sen obverse. The reverse face was struck by a 1 sen reverse (anvil) die.

This dual denomination mule was struck in 1993 by the Denver mint. It had the correct hammer die (cent die) and the coin was struck on the correct planchet. However, the anvil die (dime die) was mistakenly installed in the coin press which resulted in this unique combination.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

This dual denomination mule coin was struck in 1999 by the Philadelphia mint. It had the correct hammer die (cent die) and the coin was struck on the correct planchet. However, the anvil die (dime die) was mistakenly installed in the coin press which resulted in this unique combination.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions

Mules Wrong Hammer And Anvil Die

PART III. Die Installation Errors:

Mules:

Wrong hammer and anvil die

Definition: Mules are coins struck by mismatched dies. In this case both hammer and anvil dies were not correct.

This Malaysian mule would be classified as a “double mule” It was struck by a 1 sen obverse die and a 1 sen reverse die installed in a 10 sen press. The coin was struck on a copper-nickel 10 sen planchet inside a 10 sen collar and shows the reeded edge normal for the 10 sen denomination (the 1 sen coin has a smooth edge).

Mules Wrong Hammer Die

PART III. Die Installation Errors:

Mules:

Wrong hammer die

Definition: Mules are coins struck by mismatched dies. In this case, the wrong hammer die was installed in a coin press.

The 2005 Malaysian mule shown below was struck on a copper-nickel 10 sen planchet inside a reeded 10 sen collar and features a normal 10 sen reverse design. The obverse (struck by the hammer die) shows an unexpected and appreciably smaller 1 sen design. This resulted in a weakly struck periphery on the reverse face. A normal 1 sen coin is copper-plated steel.

This dual denomination mule was struck in 1995 on a dime planchet by a press that was striking dimes. The reverse die (anvil die) was appropriate while the obverse die (hammer die) was incorrect.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Pseudo-mules

PART III. Die Installation:

Mules:

Pseudo-mules

Definition: A coin with the same raised design on each face, but which is struck with a pair of conventional dies. Pseudo-mules can be generated by accident or by intent. There are three ways a pseudo-mule can be generated. For purposes of this discussion, we’ll describe a pseudo-mule that carries the design of the hammer die on each face. An example would be a two-headed cent from the 1980’s (before inverted die installation was introduced by the U.S. Mint).

Method 1. A coin flips over on top of a planchet, landing within the collar or in a perfectly centered position. The
two discs are struck together. The original die-struck hammer die design is flattened. The original die-struck anvil die design is obliterated by the force of the strike. The double thickness causes an increase in effective striking pressure, which facilitates erasure of the anvil die design.

Method 2. Two planchets are struck together within the collar, producing two in-collar uniface strikes. The bottom coin is ejected while the top coin flips over and lands on another planchet. During the second strike, the original hammer die design is flattened, while the original featureless surface is struck by the hammer die.

Method 3. The sequence begins with a coin with an in-collar, first-strike brockage of the hammer die design on the face normally struck by the anvil die. The coin flips over and lands in the collar. A planchet is fed on top of it and then struck. The top coin has on its bottom face a first-strike counterbrockage of the hammer die design.

A 2005 Malaysian 1 sen coin shown below carries the obverse design (struck by the hammer die) on each face. It is an intentionally fabricated, double-struck pseudo-mule. Method 2 was almost certainly employed.

This undated triple-struck nickel shown below displays a spontaneous, off-center pseudo-mule of the obverse (hammer die) design. The second strike was an off-center uniface strike, with the obverse design die-struck. The coin flipped over on top of a planchet and received a second off-center uniface strike in exactly the same spot. The die-struck obverse design from the second strike was flattened by the third strike. The uniface surface from the second strike received a fresh-die struck obverse design during the third strike.

Mules Wrong Anvil Die 1993-D And 1999(P) Cent/Dime Mules

PART III. Die installation Errors:

Mules:

Wrong anvil die

Definition: Mules are coins struck by mismatched dies. In this case the wrong anvil die was installed in a coin press.

This Malaysian 10 sen mule was struck on a 10 sen planchet in a reeded 10 sen collar and carries a normal 10 sen obverse. The reverse face was struck by a 1 sen reverse (anvil) die.

This dual denomination mule was struck in 1993 by the Denver mint. It had the correct hammer die (cent die) and the coin was struck on the correct planche t. However, the anvil die (dime die) was mistakenly installed in the coin press which resulted in this unique combination.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions

Part III. Die Installation Errors:

Mules (ES May/June 2010)

- Wrong hammer die
  - 2005 Malaysian 1 sen obverse die paired with 10 sen reverse die and struck on a copper-nickel 10 sen planchet in a 10 sen collar
  - 1995 cent/dime mule
- Wrong anvil die
  - Malaysian 1 sen reverse die paired with a 2005 10 sen obverse die and struck on a copper-nickel 10 sen planchet in a 10 sen collar
  - 1993-D and 1999 cent/dime mules
- Wrong hammer and anvil die
  - 2005 Malaysian 1 sen obverse and reverse dies used to strike a 10 sen planchet in a 10 sen collar
  - Maryland quarter on Sac planchet in Sac collar (3 specimens)
- Two anvil dies
  - Foreign
    - 1982 Jamaica cent with two obverse faces
    - Chilean 100 pesos bi-metallic with two obverse faces (1 known specimen)
    - 1 Euro cent with two reverse faces
  - Domestic
    - Two-tailed clad dime (1 known specimen, probably from 1965)
    - Two-tailed clad quarter (3-4 known specimens, probably from 1965)
- Two hammer dies
  - Foreign
    - 1982 Jamaica cent with two reverse faces
  - Domestic
    - 1859 Indian cent with two obverse faces (unique)
    - 1863 Broas Pie Bakers token (Civil War Store card token)
- Two obverse or two reverse dies (die setup unclear)
  - 2000-P nickel with two obverse dies (CW 6/26/17)
- Two different countries
  - (1967) Bahamas 5c/New Zealand 2c mule
- Different denominations
  - Washington 25c/Sacagawea $1 mules (16 specimens, 3 die pairs)
    - COIN WORLD SPECIAL: article posted HERE
- Mule die larger than normal die and collar
  - 1995 cent/dime mule
- Mule die same size or smaller than normal dies and collar
  - (All known U.S. mules employ dies of different sizes)
- Temporal mule (mule die representing same denomination but from an earlier or subsequent year) (CW 1/24/14)
  - 1959-D wheat-back cent (unique)
  - 2000 Macedonia 1 denar muled with obverse die used in prior and later years
- Temporal/transitional mule (dies from different years with change in planchet composition) (CW 5/9/16)
  - 1942-S silver alloy five cent coin with small S-mintmark to right of Monticello (unique) (CW 5/9/16)
  - 1993 bimetallic Russia 50 roubles (St. Petersburg mint set only) (ES March/April 2010; CW 3/20/17)
- Regular-issue die muled with commemorative die
  - September and November 1999 Canadian quarters
- Regular-issue die muled with government medal or token die
  - 2000 Canada “map mule”
- Regular-issue die muled with private token, medal, or nonsense die (ES Jan/Feb 2008, CW 11/25/13)
- Mules involving pattern dies (various types)
  - Normal die paired with pattern or prototype die (CW 2/2/04)
- Collar mules (collar from different denomination of same or similar size installed)
- Lettering die mule (mismatch between edge lettering applied before or after strike and the design shown on the obverse and reverse face)
  - Presidential dollar with wrong date on edge.
    - 2009 Zachary Taylor dollar with 2010-D edge inscription (rather than 2009-D inscription) (CW 2/22/10, 3/1/10)
  - 2007-D Sacagawea dollar with Presidential dollar edge lettering (CW 7/9/12)
- Pseudo-mules (3 pathways) (CW 4/25/11, 3/19/12, 4/23/12, 12/11/17, 12/17/18, 2/22/21, 12/12/22) COIN WORLD SPECIAL: article posted HERE
  - Canadian Pseudo-mules
    - COIN WORLD SPECIALS: articles posted HERE and HERE
  - One U.S. two-tailed quarter may belong in this group (CW 11/27/04, 8/27/12)

Mismatched business / proof dies

- 1999 $5 and $10 gold eagles struck with unfinished proof dies (W-mintmark)
- 1998-2000 business strike cents with proof-style reverse (Wide AM)
- 1998-S and 1999-S proof cents with business-style reverse (Close AM)
- 1956 – 1964 quarters with “Type B” proof reverse
- 1956 – 1963 halves with “Type 2” proof reverse
- 1969-P, 1970-P and 1970-D Roosevelt dimes struck with 1968-S reverse proof dies
- 1939 proof Jefferson nickel obverse with 1938 reverse
- 1940 proof Jefferson nickel obverse with 1938 reverse

Finished proof die matched with business die

- Early 19th century examples (CW 8/20/12)

Transitional Reverse (Minor temporal mismatches) e.g.:

- 1939 nickel with reverse of 1938
- 1940 nickel with reverse of 1938 or 1939
- Proof 1940 nickel with reverse of 1938 (CW 4/19/08)
- 1964-D quarter with the “Type C” reverse of 1965
- 1988-D and P Lincoln cents with reverse of 1989
- 1992-D and P cent with “Close AM” reverse
- 2008-P Silver Eagle Bullion Coin with 2007-P Reverse
  - COIN WORLD SPECIAL: article posted HERE

Inverted die installation (not an error) (CW 2/15/10, 7/22/19, 1/6/20)

- Older issues struck with inverted dies (e.g. buffalo nickels and Mercury dimes)
- Re-introduction of inverted dies (beginning 1989) (CW 12/11/23)
- Saddle strikes produced by inverted dies (CW 9/13/10, 9/19/16)

Late use of traditional die setup (CW 6/5/18)

Fixed rotated die errors (see Part VI)

Collar Installation Errors

- Smooth edge instead of reeded edge (and vice versa)
  - 1863 Indian cent with reeded edge (CW 6/3/02)
- Smooth edge instead of edge design (and vice versa)
- Reeded edge instead of edge design (and vice versa)
- Segmented proof collar with segments out-of-order (CW 4/7/08
  - 2007-S Proof Presidential dollar with segments arranged in wrong sequence (CW 4/7/08)

Use of flat, featureless dies (CW 6/30/14)

Use of cancelled and defaced dies (CW 5/12/14)

Cancellation overstrikes (coins overstruck by canceled coin, pattern or test dies) (CW 5/8/17, 5/24/21)

Design/composition mismatches (CW 2/10/20)

Green lettering – major heading

Blue lettering – linked to subject matter

Brown lettering – subject matter covered under that heading

Black lettering – no entry yet

Index Of Completed Entries

Index entries are a mixture of higher-level and lower-level entries. Lower-level entries are often inserted into the index in alphabetical order and may therefore be separated from the higher-level entry they fall under in the Checklist.