The Definitive Clipped Planchet Errors Guide : EverRise Treasures
The Definitive Clipped Planchet Errors Guide :
Clipped Planchet Errors
A clipped planchet error starts before the coin is actually struck. During the minting process, large sheets or strips of metal are fed into a powerful blanking machine. This machine moves up and down very quickly, punching out perfectly round pieces of metal called blanks or planchets, much like a cookie cutter cutting circles from a sheet of dough.
Normally, the blanks are punched out in a carefully arranged pattern so that the metal sheet is used efficiently. However, if the metal strip is incorrectly positioned, moves during the punching process, or the punching sequence goes wrong, the cutting tool may punch partly over an area where metal is missing or over the edge of the sheet. This produces a blank with a portion of its normal round shape missing. When that damaged blank is later struck between the coin dies, the missing section remains visible on the finished coin. Depending on how the sheet and punching process were affected, different types of clipped planchet errors can occur.
1) Straight Clip
A Straight Clip occurs when the blanking machine punches a circular blank directly across the straight outer edge of the metal sheet. Normally, the cutting tool should be completely surrounded by metal so that it can produce a full circle. But when the blank is positioned partly beyond the edge of the sheet, there is simply no metal available in that area to form the missing portion.
Because the original sheet edge is straight, the resulting missing section on the blank is also straight rather than curved. After the blank is struck, the finished coin therefore has one noticeably straight section where part of the normal circular shape is missing. The straight edge should look like it naturally resulted from the blanking process rather than from damage that happened after the coin was struck.
2) Curved Clip
A Curved Clip happens when the blanking process punches a new blank partly into an area where a previous blank has already been removed. Imagine a metal sheet containing a row of perfectly round holes. If the sheet does not move forward the correct distance before the next punch, the cutting tool may overlap one of those existing holes instead of cutting entirely through solid metal.
Because the previous hole is round, the overlapping area creates a smooth, curved or crescent-shaped missing section on the new blank. When the blank is later struck into a coin, this smooth curved area remains visible as the characteristic clip. Curved clips are often easier to recognize because the missing portion follows the rounded shape of an earlier punched-out blank.
3) Ragged Clip
A Ragged Clip occurs when the blanking process reaches an irregular or rough portion of the metal sheet rather than a clean, properly formed area. This can happen when the metal strip over-feeds or when the punching operation reaches the uneven end or rough margin of the sheet or strip.
Instead of producing the clean, smooth edge normally associated with a blank, the affected area can have a rough, uneven, or jagged appearance. After the blank is struck, this irregular missing section remains part of the coin's shape. The edge may therefore look broken or torn compared with the smooth edge of a normal coin. A genuine ragged clip is a result of the blanking process and should not simply be confused with a coin that was damaged or broken after leaving the mint.
4) Multiple Clip
A Multiple Clip occurs when a blank is affected by more than one clipping event. Under normal conditions, the punching machine and metal strip move in a controlled sequence. However, if there is a significant timing, positioning, or feeding problem, a blank may overlap more than one previously punched area or may encounter more than one edge of the available metal.
As a result, the finished blank can have two or more separate missing sections. These clips may appear in different locations around the edge of the coin and can have different shapes depending on what caused each individual clip. When the blank is later struck, all of those missing areas remain visible, producing a coin with multiple clipped sections. Genuine multiple clips are particularly interesting because they show that more than one abnormal condition affected the blanking process.
5) Elliptical Clip
An Elliptical Clip is an extremely unusual and rare type of clip error in which the resulting coin or blank appears oval or elliptical rather than normally round. This type of error is associated with an unusual punching situation involving an incomplete or shallow punch from a previous cycle.
In this situation, a previous punching operation may not have completely separated the metal as it normally should. When the next punching operation takes place, the metal can break or separate under tension in an unusual way. This can create two crescent-shaped pieces and a central oval-shaped piece. The central piece can then become a planchet that is later struck into a coin, producing the distinctive elliptical appearance.
Because of its unusual shape and rarity, an elliptical clip can be especially interesting to collectors. However, the unusual shape should come from the minting and blanking process, rather than from bending, cutting, squeezing, or other damage that occurred after the coin was produced.
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