Clipped Planchet Error Coins

Specifications

Denomination: multiple
Series: Mint error types

A clipped planchet is missing a curved or straight bite where the blanking punch overlapped the metal strip’s edge. Confirm it with the Blakesley effect — a weak, distorted rim opposite the clip — and weigh it: ordinary single clips add a small premium, while ragged end-of-strip clips and multiple clips are the valuable ones.

Wikimedia Commons (Economicrealist), CC BY-SA 3.0

What it is

A clipped planchet is a planchet preparation-stage error: the coin blank was already missing a bite of metal before it was ever struck (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).
Because metal is missing, a clipped coin weighs less than a normal example of its denomination (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).

How it happens

Mints punch coin disks out of long metal strips; when the strip misfeeds, the blanking punch can overlap the strip’s leading edge, producing a straight clip (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).
If the punch overlaps the hole left by a previous punch, the result is a curved clip (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).
If the punch strikes the ragged trailing edge of the strip, the result is an irregular or ragged clip (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).

How to identify

Find the Blakesley effect: on curved-clip coins, the rim directly opposite the clip shows a distinctive distortion and loss of detail, because metal flowed toward the missing area during the strike — the best proof a clip is genuine (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).
Know the three types — straight clip (strip’s leading edge), curved clip (previous punch hole), ragged/irregular clip (trailing edge of the strip) (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).
Weigh the coin: a clipped planchet is underweight for its denomination (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).

Real error vs. post-mint damage

A genuine clip has a smooth, rounded edge shaped by the blanking punch and the strike (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).
A coin that was cut, filed, or ground after minting shows sharp sheared edges, scratches, or tool marks — that is post-mint damage, not a mint error (Wikipedia — Mint-made errors; accessed 2026-09-17).

Notable examples

1926-S Buffalo nickel, 10% ragged clipped planchet, AU58 PCGS — ragged clips are much rarer than curved or straight ones because they occur only when the cutter overruns the end of the strip (Heritage; accessed 2026-09-17).
Undated Lincoln Memorial cent, off-center on triple-clipped planchet, MS65 Red and Brown NGC (Heritage; accessed 2026-09-17).
1787 Massachusetts cent, Ryder 1-B, clipped planchet, XF40 NGC — the clip is believed unique for the variety (Heritage; accessed 2026-09-17).
2000-P Sacagawea dollar, straight-clipped planchet and multiple-struck, MS65 NGC (Heritage; accessed 2026-09-17).

What drives value

The clip’s character: ragged end-of-strip clips beat curved clips, multiple clips beat single clips, and larger clips beat small ones (Heritage; accessed 2026-09-17).
A scarce host coin multiplies interest — as with the 1926-S nickel, itself a key lower-mintage issue (Heritage; accessed 2026-09-17).
Honest floor: small single clips on common modern coins are minor errors worth only a little over face value (Heritage; Dr. Sol Taylor (The Signal) — What is a Mint Error Worth?; accessed 2026-09-17).