1967 Canadian gold brought to U.S. show

Do you know who brought the first Canadian 1967 $20 gold coin into the U.S.?

This is documented because at the time you could not import gold coins. Coin dealer E.A. Stewart of Lethbridge, Alberta, accomplished the feat on April 18, 1968. He got a special one-time permit for a Billings, Mont., coin show. After the show, the coin was returned to Canada.

Is there any factual basis for the claim that 200 silver quarters and 60 silver dimes were minted with 1965 dates?

Absolutely none for the specific figures. However, there were a very small number of both denominations struck by accident: the so-called “transition” coins. There are probably less than a dozen of either denomination.

A grading service returned my coin with the notation “struck through.” What does that mean?

“Struck through” means that there was something between the die and the planchet when the coin was struck. It could mean anything from a speck of metal or slag up to another planchet. Values are just as wide ranging, depending on the struck-in object’s size, proximity to the date or mintmark and the likelihood of such an object being available in the Mint. Prices go up the scale if the object is a smaller struck coin. One more note: the object will be flush with the surface of the coin as there is no place else for it to go.

Aren’t overdates considered to be “standard” varieties? Why don’t all reference books list the same overdates?

Two related questions. Overdates – one date over a different date – are not always clear enough to make a positive identification. The authors, researchers or publishers of a given reference may not necessarily agree that a certain variety is an overdate, and for this or other reasons may not list it. There is no “final” authority to rule on such matters, so the numismatist has to compare opinions. They are popular varieties for U.S. collectors, so most references list them, although there are collectors in other countries who completely ignore them.

Did the Secret Service ever seize any of the 1943 cents struck on brass planchets?

I have been unable to find any documented instance of a seizure by the Secret Service, although threats of such action were made with considerable frequency after the first one was discovered in 1947. The Mint flatly refused at first to either admit having made a mistake or having struck anything but steel cents in 1943. It was part of the long-running effort to convince the public that the Mint was infallible, which continued well into the 1970s.

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