Every day in Facebook coin groups there is the ridiculous hunt for ultra rare errors–1992/92-D Close AM, 1982-D Small Date bronze cent, 1983/83-D bronze cents–with members continuously believing they have struck it rich and found valuable flaws.
These posts try the patience of hobbyists who want to promote coin collecting. Clickbaiters on social media continue to emphasize how easily these rarities can be found in pocket change, no less.
Here’s an example:
Also, while we are at it, there is no collector market for minor errors like broad struck, struck through grease, machine doubling, minor hub doubling, etc. You are never going to find the 1982-D Small Date 3.1 grams. It was theorized decades ago, and a few found some. Collectors have been searching for decades before counterfeiters sold their wares on Etsy.
Some clickbait-inspired collectors are so frustrated that they have found means to claim they have found a rarity. One Facebook coin group member photographed the obverse of a 1992-D Wide AM with the reverse of a common 1996-D Close AM–two coins in the same high-grade condition–and then claimed he found the rarity.
Recently, someone claimed to have been informed by PCGS that he not only found a 1982-D bronze small date but also an error on it in addition, qualifying as a new discovery. Proxiblog demonstrated how someone can use ChatGPT to create a fake email from PCGS affirming just about anything you wish. Click here for the article.
Here’s an example that Proxiblog created:
Nevertheless, newbie collectors continue their futile searches. They go to eBay and see ridiculous listings. See examples below with the real condition followed by the eBay scam exaggeration:
POST MINT DAMAGE: Face Value
WEAR: Face Value
STRUCK THROUGH GREASE: $25
COPPER COATED ZINC: Face Value
And then we get the dozen or so posts per day claiming to have found the 1982-D Small Date transitional error at 3.1 grams. Note, too, that the seller says “errors” without designating any. He even betrays himself by weighing the coin for all to see:
Coin collecting is not exclusively about finding errors and rare varieties. Valuable ones have been found decades ago, such as the 1955 double die obverse cent.
The value of the hobby is the hobby. Coin collecting is expensive. Smart collectors admire the design, the luster, the history, the metal–7 things that make coins valuable.
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