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What a planchet is (and why error collectors care)
A planchet is the blank piece of metal a mint strikes into a coin. Wrong planchets and clipped planchets are real errors. A damaged coin is not.
A planchet is the blank.
The mint cuts it to the right size and weight, sometimes upsets a rim, then strikes it. If the blank is the wrong metal, the wrong size, or incomplete, and it still gets struck or shipped, collectors call that a planchet error.
Real vs wishful
A quarter struck on a nickel planchet is rare and collected. A blank that never got struck is collected by people who like mint process. A coin you dropped in gravel is not a planchet error.
What a mint is. Error hype. Seigniorage.
At the counter
If you think you have a wrong-metal strike, do not clean it and do not drill it. A shop that handles errors will weigh it and look at the edge. Most “wrong metal” stories are plated fakes or damage. Don’t clean. Counterfeits.
Continue in the coin and money library. Related visitor guides: for shop visitors.