Blank Planchet

[willsy68]

Hi All,

I have found a 50 pence piece that is completely blank and rimless in a sealed bag of change that I got from the bank (I am a publican). I have emailed the mint office to ask if this is quite a common occurrence and am waiting to receice a response from them. I floated around on the 'interwebs' for a while (which is where I found this site), and it seems that if there is any value in this coin at all, it would be worth less by having a rim around it.

Can anybody help me with some information (thought you guys and girls would be the people to ask) with regard to these sort of coins and whether there would be any point in putting it up for sale, on eBay for instance?

Many thanks,

Phillip

[Chris Perkins]

When you say the 'mint office', do you mean those 'London' people that like people to think they have something to do with the Royal Mint in Wales? If so, ignore whatever they say and have no dealings with them unless you want to end up receiving a lot of rubbish coins on approval for the rest of your life!

I have a blank older (large) 50p blank somewhere, but I believe it does have a rim. Blank planchets are usually pretty inexpensive because although they should never leave the mint in that state, they are (in my eyes) not really errors, but just fairly uninteresting bits of metal that have missed most of the minting processes. Value will be under £5.00 I suspect.

[Peckris]

Could be a normal 50 pence, victim of an acid attack (complete immersion ). You could weigh it and see if it is underweight? (Or just weigh it and report back - people here will tell you if it's underweight).

[scott]

i dont think it can be underwight if it came from the bank, they weigh the bags there, it would have come up.

[Peckris]

i dont think it can be underwight if it came from the bank, they weigh the bags there, it would have come up.

Good point ... but perhaps the total weight of the "eroded" design is not enough to make the coin register underweight? Or not enough to affect the bank's scales?

[Peter]

The minimal weight loss will not be lost on a bag of 50p's....only really a problem with gold.

I have been banking loose copper change and as long as it reaches 359 to 360g no problem.

[willsy68]

Could be a normal 50 pence, victim of an acid attack (complete immersion ). You could weigh it and see if it is underweight? (Or just weigh it and report back - people here will tell you if it's underweight).

I have taken the coin to the bank and they weighed it for me on one of their machines. They said it is 8.00 grams and that this is the correct weight for a coin of this denomination, they also said that it is possible for coins like this to 'slip through the loop' but it does not happen very often due to stringent machine checks at the mint.

[Peckris]

Could be a normal 50 pence, victim of an acid attack (complete immersion ). You could weigh it and see if it is underweight? (Or just weigh it and report back - people here will tell you if it's underweight).

I have taken the coin to the bank and they weighed it for me on one of their machines. They said it is 8.00 grams and that this is the correct weight for a coin of this denomination, they also said that it is possible for coins like this to 'slip through the loop' but it does not happen very often due to stringent machine checks at the mint.

My 'acid attack' response was made after looking at your picture - which shows a very rough surface, quite unlike what an unstruck blank would look like. You have to account for that.

[willsy68]

Could be a normal 50 pence, victim of an acid attack (complete immersion ). You could weigh it and see if it is underweight? (Or just weigh it and report back - people here will tell you if it's underweight).

I have taken the coin to the bank and they weighed it for me on one of their machines. They said it is 8.00 grams and that this is the correct weight for a coin of this denomination, they also said that it is possible for coins like this to 'slip through the loop' but it does not happen very often due to stringent machine checks at the mint.

My 'acid attack' response was made after looking at your picture - which shows a very rough surface, quite unlike what an unstruck blank would look like. You have to account for that.

Oh, I see. The photo is not of the coin I have,it is a generic photo that I copied and pasted off a website as I do not own a digital camera to be able to take pictures.

[Chris Perkins]

Ah, well that's not much good! You're like the ebayers that use pictures of similar coins to show something they are selling. With coins, or any collectables really, you have to show a picture of the actual item because each one is different to an expert, even though they may look roughly the same.

Nevermind, eh.

I'm sure what you have is a genuine blank 50p. Were all the coins in the bag the same date?

[willsy68]

Ah, well that's not much good! You're like the ebayers that use pictures of similar coins to show something they are selling. With coins, or any collectables really, you have to show a picture of the actual item because each one is different to an expert, even though they may look roughly the same.

Nevermind, eh.

I'm sure what you have is a genuine blank 50p. Were all the coins in the bag the same date?

I am unsure about this, due to the fact that it was after my wife had torn the plastic bag open and tipped the contents into the till that she noticed the coin and put it to one side. It now sits in a bag with the undated 20p's that I have found. (sorry about the photo)

[Peckris]

Ah, well that's not much good! You're like the ebayers that use pictures of similar coins to show something they are selling. With coins, or any collectables really, you have to show a picture of the actual item because each one is different to an expert, even though they may look roughly the same.

Nevermind, eh.

I'm sure what you have is a genuine blank 50p. Were all the coins in the bag the same date?

I am unsure about this, due to the fact that it was after my wife had torn the plastic bag open and tipped the contents into the till that she noticed the coin and put it to one side. It now sits in a bag with the undated 20p's that I have found. (sorry about the photo)

Oh right - so your coin is smooth and shiny, like an unstruck blank? In which case it is an interesting curio - whether it has value depends on whether an eBay buyer is "in the mood" (numismatically speaking ). But it won't be a fortune. A uniface piece would be worth more, perhaps up to £100 at the right auction?

[Chris Perkins]

Uniface means with one side struck, which is pretty rare. Much rarer than a blank coin.

How many undated 20p's do you have?

[willsy68]

Uniface means with one side struck, which is pretty rare. Much rarer than a blank coin.

How many undated 20p's do you have?

I had 9, but have just sold the last of 8 and am keeping one to hand down to my family.

[Chris Perkins]

What was the most you got for one? Out of interest.

[willsy68]

What was the most you got for one? Out of interest.

The first 2, I got just over £450 each a few days after it hit the newspapers. the rest have been £150 and under and the last one up for sale sold for £56. I now have one left that I will either give to the family or wait for 20 - 30 years and then see what the market is doing. Thanks for all your input with regard to the planchet and all the other replies that I have received. When I can get hold a digital camera to take a photo of it, I think i'll probably just throw it on ebay and see if I can get a couple of pounds for it, then at least it may go to somebody who has an interest in that sort of thing.

Thanks again all,

Phillip.

[Chris Perkins]

£450, that's a lot! I bet I couldn't find anyone now that would admit to paying that much for one!

I suspect they will never be worth that much again.