Oops! They Did It Again!

“Possibly there is some mistake.”

– The Adventure of the Creeping Man”

We have come across another minting error involving one of the 2019 United Kingdom Sherlock Holmes 50 pence coins. Unlike the clipping errors we highlighted in our April 2020 post, this coin has two separate and entirely different errors.

First, right above Sherlock’s deerstalker cap, this coin had something laying on top of it as the coin was being struck between the two dies. This is known as a strike-thru error.

Then, we have the second error to the left of the word “Baskervilles.” A portion of the planchet has peeled away, which is a lamination erro and is caused by contaminants in the alloy that cause the metal to separate along the horizontal plane.   Lamination errors can develop before or after the strike.

It is unusual to have two different minting errors on the same coin and that does increase this coin’s value. That being said, this coin is currently available for purchase on “a major online marketplace” and can be founding by searching for “Sherlock Holmes Mint Error.”

The current asking price is just under $9,000 USD. We would suggest taking advantage of the “Make offer” feature on this auction lot and suggest something in the low three-figures instead. Good luck!