ALUMINUM WRONG PLANCHET ERRORS

Aluminum planchets were once considered an alternative to copper for cent production by the U.S. Mint. Many collectors may remember the 1.5 million 1974 Lincoln cents that were struck in aluminum. The entire production was rejected and all coins were recalled. One specimen exists legally and resides at the Smithsonian Institute.

A second specimen, known as the Toven specimen, is detailed in a story written in July 2005 by the late Alan Herbert for Numismatic News. Slabbed by ICG, Herbert suggests that it is likely worth several million dollars, if not more.

Many mints around the world strike coins using aluminum planchets. It is always exciting to encounter errors struck on a wrong planchet and this article focuses on several having been struck on aluminum.

British no date 50 pence coin struck on a 12 sided aluminum planchet weighing 0.8 of a gram.

The first error is a 50 pence from Great Britain. A normal 50 pence from this time period is seven sided and weighs 8.0 grams. In 2007 I came upon this 50 pence struck on a scalloped, 12-point aluminum blank weighing 0.80 of a gram. After some tidy research I found a likely match. I believe this blank was intended for a 1c coin from Belize. A normal 1c from Belize has a scalloped, 12-point perimeter and has a specification weight of 0.80 of a gram, an exact match for the weight of this error coin.

British 2005 5 pence struck on aluminum planchet.

The second error carries the design of a 2006 5 pence from Great Britain. This particular design began production in 1995 and continues to the present day. A normal 5 pence weighs 3.25 grams. This wrong planchet error weighs 0.70 of a gram and is struck on a circular aluminum disc. I have yet to determine which country this aluminum planchet was intended for.

For more information on The Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America (CONECA),, see: http://conecaonline.org/

Wayne Homren, Editor

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web