"Woody"Questions...

That's not a woody, that's a damaged coin. Woody coins are called such because of improper mixture of the individual metals in an alloy that show up on the resulting coins.

The weight should not vary because of improper metal mixture.

Worn and damaged coins are often light though; that's a different matter altogether.

I will try to be as clear as possible here...

First, things that are "listed" are die varieties that have problems with the die that repeats itself from coin to coin with every coin the die strikes. When we list a die and its characteristics with a "die number" other coins struck from the same die can be compared to one another as having been struck by the same die, thus those coins carry that die number when described to other collectors. It's simply a way of describing coins as having been struck by the same die. Once you have a coin from all of the different known dies, you have a set.

Problems like planchet alloy mix have nothing at all to do with the dies that strike the coins. One coin could have completely proper planchet mix, where the next coin struck could have an improper mix, thus have the stripes. So, to that effect, there is no way to "list" such coins, nor would there be any purpose served by trying to do so. They are known by type, no sense in trying to list them with some number or otherwise.

Finally, improper alloy mix does not change the weight of the resulting coins. It also does not change the size or shape of the coin, so there's no real collector value in them as error coins. Most generally, error coins are only coins that ar significantly different in size or shape from normally struck coins. This isn't to say that an improper alloy mix coin (woody) would definitely not have any premium value - value is established between a buyer and a seller. They are generally sold as a curiosity to collectors of such coins.

The real problem is when a key date coin shows up with this metal mix problem...they commonly sell at a heavy discount because of the stripes. Collectors generally do not want such problems in their sets, and do not want a key coin 'woody' in their set. I have seen a number of 1909S cents with this problem, and wouldn't buy them for anywhere near market value for the grade because the metallic stripes are detracting from the 'solid coin' appeal.

That 1916 is AWESOME!

This week's Coin World has a column on improper alloy mix errors. Theoretically, it is possible for an improper alloy mix error to have a lighter weight, lower density, and lighter color if there is a tremendously elevated level of zinc, tin, or both. However, the practical reality is that weight is almost always in the normal range. That tells us that the proportions are more or less right, but that the constituent metals were poorly mixed.