WCT News

1945-P War Nickel Has FS-801 Doubled Die and Curved Clip

Most rare coins have one feature that separates them from the pack. This 1945-P Jefferson Nickel has two.

The silver wartime nickel combines one of the Jefferson series’ major doubled-die varieties with a completely separate Mint production error. Its reverse carries the famous FS-801 Doubled Die Reverse. Meanwhile, the planchet itself has a 5% curved clip.

CAC Grading certified the coin MS63 and recorded its weight at just 4.75 grams. A normal 1945-P wartime nickel should weigh 5.00 grams. CAC identifies the piece as certification 98359027.

That combination makes this coin much more than another silver war nickel. It captures two different failures in the coin-production process on one piece of World War II history.

1945-P Silver 5C Doubled Die Reverse, FS-801 – CAC MS63 America Needed Nickel for War

The story begins with metal, not mint errors.

Before World War II, the Jeffers…

America’s Cent Era Is Ending After 232 Years, But Collectors Haven’t Seen the Last Cent

For 232 years, the United States Mint struck one-cent coins for American commerce.

That remarkable run has already ended.

Now Congress may make the change permanent.

On September 14, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Common Cents Act, H.R. 10167, by voice vote. The legislation would formally end production of circulating pennies, establish federal rules for rounding cash transactions, and give the Treasury Department authority to test a potentially less expensive composition for the nickel.

For coin collectors, however, the story has an important twist.

The cent itself would not disappear.

Existing cents would remain legal tender. Moreover, the United States Mint could continue striking one-cent coins as numismatic products. That means one of America’s oldest denominations could survive as a collector coin even after…

1861-D Gold Dollar: The Only U.S. Coin Struck Entirely by the Confederacy

It looks like a United States coin.

It carries UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around Liberty’s portrait. It uses a design created by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre. Even its dies came from the United States Mint.

Yet the United States government never struck an 1861-D Gold Dollar.

1861-D Dahlonega Gold Dollar srtucj inder Cenfederate Authority – Sold by Heritage as Part of the Simpson Collection in 2020 as PCGS-64+ for $180,000

By the time workers at the Dahlonega Mint produced these tiny gold coins, the Georgia facility had passed into Confederate hands. That gives the 1861-D Gold Dollar a place in American numismatics that no other regular-issue U.S. coin can claim.

 

Its entire production took place under Confederate authority.

Other Southern branch mints struck U.S. coins during the chaotic opening months of the Civil War. However, those is…

Lost Sidney Poitier Medal Hubs Resurface 25 Years Later

Article Based on content sent to CoinWeek by Ken Potter on Sept.11, 2026

Some numismatic artifacts tell their story through the coins or medals they produced. Others survive long after the finished pieces have disappeared from view.

A remarkable pair of massive steel hubs from the former Roger Williams Mint belongs in the second category.

Ken Potter – Numismatist

Numismatist and error-coin specialist Ken Potter owns the matching obverse and reverse hubs for a three-inch presentation medal honoring legendary actor and diplomat Sidney Poitier. Roger Williams Mint produced the tooling for Costco’s second annual Scholarship Fund Breakfast in 2001.

Each hub weighs about 11 pounds. Potter measured the face of the obverse hub at 76.27 mm with a digital caliper.

More importantly, the tooling preserves a date that gives the medal an unexpected historical context: September 20, 2001.…

A Tiny Mark on This Massive 1687 Gold Coin Reveals a Much Bigger Story

A massive gold coin struck for a king who would lose his throne only a year later will offer collectors a direct link to one of the most turbulent chapters in British history.

Sovereign Rarities will hold Auction XXIII in partnership with The Royal Mint on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. The live sale begins at 10 a.m. BST. The 475-lot auction ranges from ancient coins to modern British issues and commemorative medals. Moreover, it features the Kilmarnock Collection of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI coins and Part III of the Highcliff Collection of British and European Medals.

Yet one coin provides an especially powerful historical centerpiece.

Lot 170 is a rare 1687 James II gold Five Guineas bearing an elephant-and-castle mark beneath the king’s portrait. Sovereign Rarities opens bidding at £9,000. At 41.76 grams, the coin is a substantial piece of 17th-century gold. More importantl…

Lost for 55 Years: Seven Uncancelled Dies Reveal the Secret Life of Indonesia’s 1971 Coins

More than half a century after Indonesia rebuilt its circulating coinage, seven pieces of the minting process have surfaced in an extraordinary form.

They are not rare coins. They are the tools that helped create them.

Numismatic error specialist and MintErrorNews publisher Mike Byers has revealed a group of seven uncancelled Indonesian dies and design-validation pieces connected to the country’s 1971 10-, 25-, and 50-rupiah coinage. NGC authenticated and encapsulated the group. According to Byers, the discovery had remained unknown to the numismatic community before its recent emergence.

That distinction matters.

Mints normally destroy obsolete coin dies or deliberately deface them after production. They do so because an intact die could theoretically strike unauthorized coins. NGC calls uncancelled dies the rarest category of surviving coin dies because th…

Two 9/11 Privy Marks, One Historic Half Dollar: Inside the Mint’s 2026 ‘Never Forget’ Coin

Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, the United States Mint has placed a message of remembrance on one of America’s circulating coin denominations.

US Mint Semiquincentennial Half Dollar 2026 with “ALWAYS REMEMBER” and “Never Forget” privy marks

The new 2026 9/11 Enduring Liberty Half Dollar carries a special privy mark with the date “9-11-01” surrounded by the words “NEVER FORGET.”

The Philadelphia Mint struck the circulating-quality coins for sale in 20-coin rolls and 100-coin bags. The Mint opened the limited pre-order window on September 10. It will close orders on September 25, 2026, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. The Mint expects shipping to begin December 3. Prices currently range from $40 to $100, depending on the product.

Yet the story behind this half dollar goes much deeper than a new privy mark.

The coin brings together th…

2020-W V75 Gold Eagle: The 1,945-Coin Modern Key

Modern U.S. coins rarely become legendary overnight.

The 2020-W End of World War II 75th Anniversary $50 Proof American Gold Eagle came remarkably close.

The United States Mint limited the special Gold Eagle to just 1,945 coins. That number deliberately echoed 1945, the year World War II ended. More importantly for collectors, no other American Gold Eagle has a mintage anywhere near it.

Then came November 5, 2020.

Collectors flooded the U.S. Mint website at noon. Seven minutes later, the Gold Eagle had become unavailable. Meanwhile, record traffic overwhelmed the Mint’s website and produced error messages for thousands of customers. Almost instantly, a $2,600 Mint product became one of the hottest modern coins in America.

2020-W One-Ounce Gold Eagle. 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II V75 Privy Mark. 1 of 1945 Struck. Proof-70 Deep Cameo (PCGS).

Yet the story goes much deeper t…

Collectors Saved the 1909-S VDB. They Spent the Lincoln Cent That’s Rarer in Mint State

One Lincoln cent became famous almost the moment it appeared.

The other became famous because almost nobody noticed it.

That distinction explains the extraordinary story of the 1914-D Lincoln Cent. The celebrated 1909-S VDB owns the lowest mintage and the bigger name. Yet collectors who chase original Red Mint State coins face a very different reality.

In high grade, the 1914-D turns the traditional Lincoln cent hierarchy upside down.

1914-D Lincoln Cent PCGS MS-66+ RD – Tied for Finest Known

Denver struck 1,193,000 cents in 1914. That total looks generous beside the 484,000-piece mintage of the 1909-S VDB. However, survival tells the real story. Collectors aggressively saved the famous 1909-S VDB. They largely spent the 1914-D.

More than a century later, that difference has created one of the great condition rarities in American numismatics.…

A July 4 Trump Dollar Reached PCGS Before Release, Now the 250,000-Coin Hunt Begins

A new modern U.S. coin hunt has already produced its first major certification milestone.

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) has graded what it identifies as the First Discovery 2026 Semiquincentennial President Donald J. Trump $1 Coin with the special July 4th privy mark.

The discovery carries an unusual backstory. PCGS says it received the coin on August 24, 2026, through an advance-release submission. That date came more than a week before the U.S. Mint opened public sales of the new dollar rolls and bags on September 2. PCGS operates from Santa Ana, California.

Even more importantly, the privy-mark coin belongs to a limited group within the larger 2026 Trump dollar issue.

The Mint Struck 250,000 on July 4

After receiving the early submission, PCGS says its experts contacted the United States Mint for more information.

PCGS President Stephanie Sabi…