Time for errors to make headlines?

Wonder where all the error stories have gone lately? I have, too.

This article was originally printed in the latest issue of Numismatic News.
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Wonder where all the error stories have gone lately?

I have, too. I telephoned Ken Potter today to find out what was up and whether I could expect something in the near future.

I caught him working on his car, so that should tell me something about the state of the error hobby.

He said there was little going on. He was working on one story, but the wheels were turning slowly for reasons he could not put his finger on.

Perhaps we are all moving a little more slowly because it is summer.

Hardly had I hung up the phone after my conversation with Ken when I got another phone call from a reader.

He introduced himself and said he was a regular reader of Numismatic News. Then he said he had ordered sets of the clad and silver proof quarters.

Did I know what they were, he asked me?

I was a little startled by that particular question at the beginning of the conversation. My reply was that I knew what the sets were that he was talking about, but I have not yet seen the 2010 sets.

Then he said they were just like other National Park quarter issues from prior years.

That got me really confused. I said this was the first year of issue and the prior years were District of Columbia and territories and state quarter issues.

He quickly agreed. That was what he had meant. So after this false start I just asked him what his question for me was.

Well, he had ordered four sets of each and the reverse of the proof Hot Springs quarter did not have a mirror finish. Did I know about this?

I did not. His is the first report by any reader of the results of an examination of the coins in the set.

I said readers would like to know about what he had found. I asked if he would drop me a line.

He said he would be glad to write a letter once he had submitted the coins to a grading service and gotten them back with their opinion.

I said that was fine with me. That’s where it was left.

Take a look at the reverses of your proof Hot Springs quarters and see what you find. Is this report truly an error, or is there something about the reverse of the Hot Springs quarter that diminishes the visual impact of a mirror finish?

We will find out, I am sure.

All this goes to prove is that even in the 21st century, hobby topics still move in broad cycles or waves. Currently at the top of hobby topics are gold and silver prices and the numbers of American Eagle and Buffalo bullion coins that are being sold.

Never fear, though, if you are a fan of errors. I expect my phone call is just the first of many and once again the cycle will turn and errors will come back into prominence.

Now, let’s see if I’m right.

Strike it Rich With Pocket Change
Strike It Rich With Pocket Change, dispels the myths of error coins and assists you in discovering, marketing, and researching rare coins that you can find in your pocket change.

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