Like father, like son; more Adams errors

An Ohio trio, Richard Stachurski and his grandsons Zak and Joe El khamiri, has found what may be the first Missing Clad Layer error reported on a 2008-P John Quincy Adams Presidential dollar.

According to Stachurski, he and his grandsons routinely search Presidential dollars for errors with each of the boys assigned different tasks based on age. Four-year-old Joe is assigned the task of clearing away the wrappers from which the coins are quickly removed by 8-year-old Zak who passes them on to Stachurski, who does the actual searching.

Stachurski, said that the find was interesting in that the error was located in the third roll searched from a box containing 28 rolls obtained from a Charter One bank in Ohio. He said that the teller told him that somebody had already gone through the first 12 rolls in the box (which originally contained 40 rolls or 1,000 dollar coins) and advised him that there were no errors to be found.

Apparently the original searcher was looking for repetitive types such as plain edge or double edge lettered errors where several to many were generally found in boxes that contained them for the Washington and Adams dollars. The original searcher apparently gave up after searching a dozen rolls feeling there was nothing to be found.

Improper bonding of clad layers on our modern clad 10-cents, 25-cents, half dollar and dollar coins makes it is possible for a clad layer from the obverse or reverse (or both) to split partially or completely away from the copper core. The John Quincy Adams dollar featured here boasts a 100 percent missing clad layer on the obverse exposing the copper core and is a perfect example of this type. Clad layers can fall away before or after a coin is struck. In this case, the presence of design on the obverse shows that the outer Manganese-Brass clad layer fell away from the copper core before this coin was struck. If it had fallen away after the strike, all that would be seen is an area of striated metal devoid of design detail.

Missing Clad Layer (or what are also referred to as ?Split Off Clad Layer? errors are, of course, thinner than usual and most often do not strike up fully. On most examples of this error type, the weakness of strike is best viewed on the characters and/or designs about the rims and the rims themselves. Other areas may also be weak as is evidenced in Miss Liberty?s lower gown and the top of Adams? head on the example featured here. The normal weight of the coin is 8.1 grams while this one weighs 5.9 grams.

A poll of major error dealers suggested that too few of these have been seen to determine value as their estimates of value ranged widely mostly in the four figures.

Mike Byers of Byers Numismatic Corporation, San Clemente, Calif., said: ?All missing outer layers on Presidential Dollars are rare. And having the obverse (portrait) in copper is very dramatic and popular. I would estimate that there are several known for each Presidential Dollar in the series so far.? Neil Osina of Best Variety/Sportscards & Coins, Glendora, Calif., said: ?Wow, struck on the core and quite thin I imagine. Bidding could be spirited.?

Ken Potter is the official attributer and lister of world doubled dies for the Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America and for the National Collector?s Association of Die Doubling. He privately lists U.S. doubled dies and other collectible variety types on both U.S. and world coins in the Variety Coin Register. For more information on either of these clubs, or to learn how to get a variety listed in the Variety Coin Register, send a self?addressed, stamped business?size envelope and 63 cents to Ken Potter, P.O. Box 760232, Lathrup Village, MI 48076?0232. Contact Ken via e?mail to: Kpotter256@aol.com, or visit his Educational Image Gallery located at: www.koinpro.com.