John, Robert Kennedy depicted on Guinea coin
Did any country issue a coin with the busts of both Robert and John Kennedy on the same coin?
Did any country issue a coin with the busts of both Robert and John Kennedy on the same coin?
In 1969, and repeated in 1970, the Republic of Guinea in Africa issued a 200-franc commemorative as an individual coin or as part of a set, the first to honor the two brothers on the same coin. You should note a discrepancy here: the country is listed as “Guinea,” which is the English spelling, but on the coins the republic’s name is spelled “Guinee,” which is the French spelling.
Were all of the U.S. mintmarks punched into the die with a letter punch?
So far as is known, there is only one exception to that rule prior to the introduction of the mintmark on the hub in 1985 for proof coins. The single example is the unique 1870-S $3 gold struck from a die accidentally sent to San Francisco without a mintmark, which was then hand-engraved at the branch mint.
Is the 1881 $5 gold with the overdate unique?
One source lists it that way, but as with many books in the field of varieties, it is badly outdated. There are at least half a dozen specimens that have appeared in auctions in the last two decades in addition to the Ted Clark discovery coin which I photographed in 1976. Incidentally, it is listed as a 1/0 in some references, while mention is made of the second “8” being “recut” in one auction catalog. However, close examination of the coin shows that it has 1881/880, with the last three digits repunched. A less well-known variety for the same date shows parts of three date punchings but is not an overdate.
I have a 1946 cent that looks like it is partially reeded. Is this some sort of experimental coin?
The usual find reported with this pseudo-reeding is a Jefferson nickel. I’ve seen several that have part of the edge strongly marked similar to the reeds on a reeded coin. The answer for this particular cent and for the nickels is that they were struck in a new collar that still had some of the broach marks from the tool used to ream out the hole to the exact diameter of the intended coin. If the broach is worn or damaged, it can leave distinct grooves in the inside edge of the collar that will mark the coins. This is one of the many common forms of minting varieties that have no value.
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