Modern Error Cent

[John Oliver]

3 hours ago, Geologyhound said:

Gold is gold.  That’s a gorgeous looking coin.  Are you thinking about grading it?

Thank you Geologyhound! I want to have it graded, but I haven't set up an account with PCGS yet. The design on this year half eagle is incused so it looks better than it would probably grade to. Just guessing it should grade to XF 45 or maybe a little more.

 

[John Oliver]

3 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Love the off-center strike as a detecting find.  Back in the day when I was into collecting - I branched off into error coinage collecting as I learned about the 1955 Lincoln Cent Doubled-Die error and some hype surrounding a number of variants of Lincoln Cent doubled-die errors in 1972.  So finding a error coin like that detecting would be one of my bucket listers.  Great saves.

Thank you Chase Goldman, I have a few nice errors, but looking at coins in detail works better for me when its freezing outside  and there is not much else  I feel like doing. I have been saving a lot of RPM errors and lamination errors. I did get a nice 1823 half dollar with an ugly 3 error from a bank. That is is another story though, but the best fifty cents I ever spent.

[John Oliver]

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

OK, I think I found the real racecar this was patterned after.  See photo and story here.  Other internet search results show the original sold last year for $2.2 million.  Don't get excited, I'm not talking about your toy.  😄

The original was made&raced in 1965.  I suspect your model followed soon after.  Does it have any printing on the bottom side that indicates the manufacturer?

Most of the similar size cars I find detecting that have been in the ground for a while have had their steel axles rusted away.  And if the tires were soft, they've deteriorated away as well.  All those appear to be intact for your find.

Thanks for the info GB. Being I was born in '66 it could be about as old as me then. On the bottom it says Tootsietoy Made in USA. Mario Andretti was my favorite driver when I was growing up. There was a Scottish formula driver named Jackie Stewart that was my second favorite. A.J. Foyt was as arrogant as the day is long so I never cared for him.

 

[GB_Amateur]

11 hours ago, John Oliver said:

There have been people suggesting that it was probably one of the anonymous donations of a gold coin in a red Salvation Army kettle and it was probably overlooked when sorting the red kettle change. I had my doubts when I first heard this possible reason, but then I started looking up how many gold coins that are anonymously donated every year and I think it's plausible.

I looked up the diameters of those two coins and the $5 gold piece is nominally 0.4 mm in diameter larger than the 5 center.  Apparently (some of) those coin counting machines don't pick up on that small of a difference.

You'd think the Salvation Army money counters, knowing gold coins are occasionally donated, would be wiser than to just put everything through a counting machine, but I guess not.  (Well, what people have told you is simply an hypothesis which can't be proved, but I agree about the plausibility.)  Makes one wonder how many Benjies are deposited as singles.  😏

As far as your good fortune, it appears you put in a lot of hours going through bank rolls, so even small probability events are more likely to occur with lots of time allowing for them to happen.  Same thing occurs with metal detecting.  Also parallel are those (erroneous, if interpreted literally) sayings:  "you make your own luck" and "the more I work at it the luckier I get."

[John Oliver]

12 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I looked up the diameters of those two coins and the $5 gold piece is nominally 0.4 mm in diameter larger than the 5 center.  Apparently (some of) those coin counting machines don't pick up on that small of a difference.

You'd think the Salvation Army money counters, knowing gold coins are occasionally donated, would be wiser than to just put everything through a counting machine, but I guess not.  (Well, what people have told you is simply an hypothesis which can't be proved, but I agree about the plausibility.)  Makes one wonder how many Benjies are deposited as singles.  😏

As far as your good fortune, it appears you put in a lot of hours going through bank rolls, so even small probability events are more likely to occur with lots of time allowing for them to happen.  Same thing occurs with metal detecting.  Also parallel are those (erroneous, if interpreted literally) sayings:  "you make your own luck" and "the more I work at it the luckier I get."

 Thanks GB. I hear you on the luck having a strong relationship to persistence. I like those two quotes you mentioned and I might need to poach them from you.