to the Community HarrytheRam!
Posted 09/01/2009 09:20 am
Split planchets are sometimes caused by gas bubbles being trapped inside the strip of metal the coin is made of as it gets rolled and pressed. After the coin is struck, the coin can spontaneously pop apart (if the bubble is large enough).
They're not considered a highly sought after mint error, because it's relatively easy to "make your own". If you throw a perfectly normal sixpence at an angle into the ground or other hard surface, it's possible the coin might break in half along a weakness in the metal or trapped bubble that was too small to cause the coin to spontaneously split.
I'm told that in previous generations, kids (here in Australia at least) would often try to do this to their coins, and then try to pass off each half-coin as a full coin to some unsuspecting shopkeeper. A quick way for juvenile delinquents to (illegally) double their money.
They're not considered a highly sought after mint error, because it's relatively easy to "make your own". If you throw a perfectly normal sixpence at an angle into the ground or other hard surface, it's possible the coin might break in half along a weakness in the metal or trapped bubble that was too small to cause the coin to spontaneously split.
I'm told that in previous generations, kids (here in Australia at least) would often try to do this to their coins, and then try to pass off each half-coin as a full coin to some unsuspecting shopkeeper. A quick way for juvenile delinquents to (illegally) double their money.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
