Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) certified a unique and rare mint error, a Canadian 2005 $5 Silver Maple Leaf (SML) struck on a planchet intended for smaller silver dollars.
Produced annually by the Royal Canadian Mint with more than 150 million made since launching in 1988, the .9999 fine one-ounce bullion coins feature a weight of 31.1 grams and a diameter of 37.97mm. The SML error has the same .9999 purity. However, it weighs only 25.1 grams (0.8 ounces) and is nearly 2mm smaller.
"No other wrong planchet errors are known to exist for the entire Canadian Maple Leaf bullion series," said David Camire, NGC finalizer and error coin specialist.
Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. (www.hjbltd.com), an NGC authorized dealer located in Chicago, IL., submitted the coin for authentication and grading. NGC certified the piece a mint error graded MS 63.
"A wrong planchet error such as this is extraordinarily rare for a silver bullion coin due to the extensive scrutiny of these coins, particularly their weight," NGC noted. "The value of this unique mint error undoubtedly exceeds the bullion value of this coin by many, many multiples," the company added.
NGC attributes major mint errors under its Mint Error service tier for an additional fee of $15 per coin (NGCcoin.com/Services.)
For information about NGC and their grading services, visit www.ngccoin.com.
An artivle about Silver Eagle mint wrrors would be a most welcome topic for discussion.
(Hint, hint…)
…and proofreading my spelling before clicking [send] would also be most welcome…