Not Brockages
by Bill Snyder
Several types of errors are sometimes incorrectly
labelled as Brockages.
1. Clips
I am continuously amazed to see a coin with one or more Clips called a
"Brockage" or a "Double Brockage" on eBay. For example, this coin was called a
"GB 5 Pence Double Brockage Scarce".
This coin has two Clips.
Clips are coins made on incorrectly-shaped flans (blank planchets). Clips are Planchet Errors, not Striking Errors.
2. Ghosting
Ghosting, in which the center part of the Obverse design (usually) appears
on the Reverse along with the correct Reverse design, is sometimes mistaken for
a Brockage. It is usually seen on the large British copper coins of the late
19th and early 20th Centuries. Please note the King's head surrounding
Britannia on the coin's reverse (below).
A discussion of the Ghosting of King George V English
pennies can be found at
http://www.24carat.co.uk/1926modifiedpenny.html.
It says, in part "Because the portrait used on early George V coins featured a
large head in quite high relief, there was more metal displaced into the
obverse than into the reverse. This often resulted in a "shadow" or "ghost" of
the head design showing on the reverse, and also a general weakness of the
reverse design, particularly noticeable on the pennies".
3. Clashed Dies
Clashed Die errors are quite often confused with
Brockages. Like Brockages, part of the design of one side of the coin appears,
incuse (set into the coin) on the other side. However, the Clashed Dies and
Brockages are produced in quite different ways.
Here is an the reverse of an English crown Clashed Die error. Please note that the King's image appears (incuse) down the left side of the coin (running down from the word FRA to the 3 in the date).
The Dies, at some time, came together without a coin blank (planchet) being between them. The Dies struck each other with such force that parts of the design on one Die was transferred to the other. So now we might have a Reverse Die that also carries some details from the Obverse.
Along comes our new blank planchet and it receives these extra details.
Coins with Clips, Ghosting, and Die Clashes are all very collectible. However, they should not be confused with Brockages.