20-P With Possible Minting Error

to the Community!

There is a coin error called a clipped planchet, but I dont think you have one here. I suspect you have somebody's attempt to make a bogus error coin possibly with a view to selling it on ebay.

Clipped blanks ( or planchets ) happen when the sheet of metal is fed through the blank-cutting machine slightly too slowly, so when the cutter comes down it overlaps slightly with the previous hole. This creates a blank with a piece missing. When the blank has the design pressed on it, there is insufficient metal to fill the die.

With the genuine clipped blanks I have I note three things which usually appear which your coin does not appear to have.
Firstly, the hole should match part of another coin. On your coin the gap near the Queen's forehead does not look the right shape. Try fitting another 20p into it.
Secondly, the cut is very crisp on a genuine error. Your cut looks slightly chamfered.
Thirdly, there is usually a slight weakening of definition of the design around the edge of the cut. This is because the metal flows slightly sideways into the gap rather than into the design of the die. On your coin, the definition of the design is crisp right up to the edge of the cut. This is why I think you have a fake error.

I am no expert in this, and would love to hear an expert give their view, particularly with an explanation.





Here is one of mine. Note how the dots "fade" slightly around the cut. Also note the fading of the design on the edge directly opposite the cut. IMO these are signs of a genuine clipped planchet.