Margin Of Error In Coin Diameters - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,578
enoilgam Valued Member Australia 243 Posts	Posted 04/24/2012 11:07 pm Hey Guys, Just a curious question, what is the acceptable margin of error in terms of a coins diameter before its authenticity should be questioned? Report this Post to the Staff

basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 04/24/2012 11:09 pm I would assume it depends on the time frame of when the coin was minted aka with the newer technologies smaller margins of error Report this Post to the Staff
enoilgam Valued Member Australia 243 Posts	Posted 04/24/2012 11:15 pm Lets say pre-1950's and pre-1900's. Report this Post to the Staff
nod2003 Pillar of the Community United States 3294 Posts	Posted 04/24/2012 11:15 pm Some of the bust coins can have a 3% difference or even more because of the way they were made. Report this Post to the Staff
enoilgam Valued Member Australia 243 Posts	Posted 04/24/2012 11:19 pm Really, that significant? For some reason I always thought it was plus or minus 0.2mm for struck coins, but I wasnt 100% sure. Report this Post to the Staff
biokemist6 Bedrock of the Community United States 12437 Posts	Posted 04/24/2012 11:41 pm Modern coins struck in collar should not have any variation in diameter since the collar specifically defines the diameter, any slight reduction(hundredths-a couple tenths of a millimeter) would be due to wear. The US Bust Half Dollar(1807-1836) mentioned by nod2003 was struck on screw presses with an open collar so there was nothing to contain the expansion of the planchet when struck. Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 04/25/2012 11:53 am Quote: Really, that significant? For some reason I always thought it was plus or minus 0.2mm for struck coins, but I wasnt 100% sure. They shouldn't be bigger but if the metal scrinks, they could get smaller. Of course that depends on the type of metal and the temperature where your at. For example if you took a coin into out space where the temperature is really, really cold, the coin should scrink. I've always wondered what a coin at absolute 0 would look like. Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 04/25/2012 2:52 pm Open collar coins can vary a fair amount. Coins struck in close collars should only vary based on the amount of wear the collar die has received. I think typically the tolerance in diameter is no more than a 2 or 3 thousandths of an inch. Report this Post to the Staff
pyrbob Rest in Peace United States 1943 Posts	Posted 04/26/2012 06:22 am I did the inside tour of the Denver Mint at the Summer Seminar two summers ago and as we walked past the presses I saw a paper on each press with the sizes for diameter and thickness with an upper/lower limit size for the denomination being struck. The fact that they checked thickness caught my eye but if I remember right the difference in diameter for a nickel was around .005". Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,578

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