A mismatched coin can make you rich. This short little sentence is a “must” of numismatic collecting. Identifying minting errors, however, is not an easy task. A lot of initiative is certainly needed, because coins with minting errors are often always common coins that have something “wrong”. And we should pay attention to the coins every time we handle a new one to find them.
Minting errors, then, are rarely recognized by the mints that issue the coins. Also because it happens that such errors are so significant as to lead to the withdrawal of the currency. A “let go” minting error identifies a coin that does not see its face value compromised. But which can have, precisely because of its characteristics, an almost inestimable numismatic value!
Find this coin and you are rich!
The currency we are talking about could potentially have passed into the wallet of every Italian. Because it is a 50-cent Euro coin produced in Italy, with legal and current value. It is a probably unique example of the coin with the reproduction of the center of Piazza del Campidoglio, in Rome, with the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius placed in the center of the geometric design by Michelangelo Buonarroti.
This coin has obvious minting errors: lacks concentrated in the upper left quadrant of the reverse, the one with the design just described. The minting errors consist concretely in the absence of 5 of the 12 stars, which pay homage to the 12 founding states of the EU, and which characterize the outer edge of the reverse; in the absence of the monogram of the Italian mint (the R of Rome), and in the particular absence of the ponytail of the statue of Marcus Aurelius.
How much is this minted coin worth?
Why do we say that if you own this coin you are rich? Well, because the request of one of the owners of this coin on Ebay is unbelievable: he asks for the astronomical sum of 169,950 Euros for the sale. Establishing the real value of a coin with minting errors is very complicated, because this market niche is governed only by the law of supply and demand.
There are no fixed parameters to refer to when determining the value of the coin. This means that its value will be determined by the price at which it will be purchased. There is always the risk, then, of running into some forgery or minting errors due to wear of the coin. To be sure to determine the value well, it would be essential to see the coin live, and perhaps with the help of a numismatic expert.
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