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The error coin market is steady, and prices have been relatively flat, with some high, some low, but overall, healthy. We have been selling a lot of coins, and as a result have been working hard to get in fresh inventory.

For us, there has been a run of coin shows lately, with our next show being the Central States coin show, held in the Chicago area. This is an excellent coin show, with hundreds of dealers and typically around 2,000 collectors (not counting hundreds of coin dealers, who often are collectors themselves!) If you are able to make it to the show, check out our table, “Sullivan Numismatics”, table 911 (and easy one to remember.) We will have a large selection of mint errors, as always. Also, if you have anything to sale, be sure and bring it to offer us at the show. 

If you are a subscriber to our regular mailing list, we recently added a feature, where we send a email every 1 or 2 days with a “daily mint error” featured. These are error which we want to feature to our customers, and showcase in this way. Additionally, there is some more commentary, which we will be adding to most of the daily emails, with information such as personal commentary on rarity, condition, interest in the coin, or interesting notes. 

If you are not a subscriber to the newsletter, you can go to our website, click on “News” then click on “Newsletter”, where you will be able to add your email address and subscribe. In addition to the (semi daily) error coin email, you will receive blog post updates, and an alert when new inventory is listed on the website. You can unsubscribe at anytime, and it is completely free to subscribe. 

Above: 1920 Buffalo Nickel Struck on 1c Planchet

There has been a lot of talk recently about the cent being done completely away with. Although it seems to be likely to happen, it will be sad to see it go, as the cent has always been the most “common” and probably the most popular denomination for mint errors. The off-center (or other error) Lincoln cent, is what started many collectors on their mint error journey. One of the first mint errors I ever had as a young collector, was a common, off-center Lincoln cent. 

Perhaps the disappearance of this denomination will create a resurgence of interest in the series, and it might spark new collectors. This has often been the case in the past, when a major change was made to our nation’s coinage, and in fact sparked a lot of collectors entering the hobby when the first “small size” cent, the flying eagle cent, was produced in 1857. It may well be that the Jefferson nickel will be the new “smallest denomination” of U.S. coin soon. Some of the errors to disappear will be “nickels on cents”, cents on dime planchets, the cent cud, and numerous hundreds of other errors for the series. Change happens (no pun intended!), but it will be a missed denomination of error coin.