2017-03-08 Wed

When something comes between the coinage die and a planchet a “struck-through” occurs, changing the appearance of the coin. Brockage error occurs when an already struck coin comes in between the coinage die and a planchet. A brockage error has a normal design on one side and a second version of the same design on the opposite face.

Coins are generally ejected by a feed mechanism and are replaced by a new blank planchet. Sometimes a newly struck coin sticks to one of the dies, causing a die cap error. The stuck coin becomes a surrogate die. This creates a mirrored version of that design on the next set of planchets. The unobscured die forms the face of the die cap now striking new planchets. The best brockage errors occur in the first strike of a die cap with the brockage side mirroring the normal side. The cap is flattened gradually leading to a fainter brockage impression.

A German 10-pfenning coin was struck from 1890 to 1900 with two F Mint marks of the Freudenstadt Mint on both sides of the eagle’s tail. The coin has no date as it was on the blocked die. The denomination and the inscription show that the coin belonged to the German Empire. The coin will be offered by Heritage Auctions in the Weekly World Coin and Ancient Coin Auction.