“To err is human” – that’s probably the most widely used excuse by many people when something gets flawed. For perfectionists, it’s a world of demanding precision. For others, it’s a world of treasure, especially when you talk about coin collecting error coins.

The modern world is now full of various collectors. You can find absurd collectors who build treasures of unique and sometimes weird things. In the world of coin collecting error coins, getting the most distinct and ironically perfect-looking error coins is definitely a must.

If you are a new to coin collecting or just about to start getting interests on error coins, it might help to know a few things about this type of coin collection. For starters, there are three types of error coins – the mis-struck coins or usually referred to as mis-strikes, die errors and planchet errors.

Of these three error coins, the mis-strikes are the most popular. Mis-struck coins happen when coins are not properly pressed. You will notice that the captions and the images are misaligned. One form of mis-stricken error coins are the brockages. These are good subjects for coin collecting error coins.

When a coin remains and does not get expelled from a press, a brockage coin is made. Instead of the original die impressing a raw coin, the unejected coin will act as the die thus creating a dull and imperfect mirrored cast on the coin. The effect is a sunken cast rather than raised. In some cases, coins get partial brockage. Although it’s nice to engage in coin collecting error coins, brockages are not sometimes unique. Since brockages happen by accidents, there might probably be identical cases of brockage coins. It’s the rarity of the case though that makes brockage coins a collector’s item.

The off-center error coin is another form of mis-strikes. These odd-looking coins are characterized by the misalignment of the die. Not all off-centers though are desirable for collecting, so make sure to look for off-centered coins which still bear the date or at least half of the whole die.

Double-strikes are also great for coin collecting error coins. Double-strikes happen when a coin is struck by the press twice leaving a secondary cast with a preferred visibility of at most 50% of the coin. Like the off-center error coins, coin collecting error double-stricken coins with the date shown is most favored.

Whatever type of mis-strikes you choose, coin collecting error coins is definitely fun. Coins are like permanent stamps of historical records. Even more so with error coins, they’re rare reminders that machines, like humans, also err.