Rings on coins and moved letters and numbers. What is it? How does it happen?

If you are a coin roll hunter, or just like to check through your pocket change, there is no doubt that you will come across many anomalies. From varieties like doubled dies and RPMs, to errors like CUDS and die cracks. You will also find many things that have no explanation at all, other than damage of some sort. Most times, damage can not be fully explained since there are literally endless ways for a coin to become damaged. There are however, a few types of damage that can be explained. This post is highlighting one of those ways that is many times mistaken as an error. I'm talking about coin rolling machine crimper damage. The machines that are used to put the coins into rolls automatically also crimp the ends closed. These would be the rolls that you get from the bank in 3rd party company rolls like Brinks, Loomis, or NF String and Sons. These are circulated coins that have been rolled by these companies and sent back to the banks.

This type of damage takes many forms and I will be adding pictures of each form to this article as I get them sent to me. In most cases, you will simply see a thin scratch around the outside of the coin near the edge in a circular pattern. Other times some letters or numbers will be flattened. In some other cases a digit will actually be moved, but still be attached. This is the type that usually baffles people.

The reason that this type of damage takes many forms is really quite simple. First of all, there are many different types of rolling machines. From the small machines you can purchase and use at home, to large industrial types used by the larger rolling companies. There are also other factors such as machine settings, coin thickness, etc...

In some case you will simply have a circular scratch around the coin. In other cased, the letters or numbers will actually be moved. This is just a form of damage.