Seeing Double

Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time can lead to an unexpected numismatic adventure. I often think of that whenever I see one of those unusual 1955 U.S. cents with a doubled date. They are not just modern curiosities of exceptional value—they have a background history that may be unknown to many of today’s collectors. 

My mind drifts back to 1955 when I was a member of a southern Massachusetts coin club and eager to learn all about U.S. coinage. I lived nearby in south New Hampshire and could usually drive to meetings most months. 

At one meeting, I remember getting involved in a conversation with a few members about a very unusual “penny” being shown around with some speculation about what it was and how it was made. It was double-struck slightly out of the register. It had very little value because minting errors like that were quite common for many coins.

I was mistaken about this piece because the obverse looked so bizarre that I had paid no attention to the perfectly normal reverse. I only realized my mistake a few meetings later when more members brought duplicate pieces to show and discuss. It was then that I realized these were a decidedly different kind of error that needed special attention. Someone told me that one of our members, Emil Dwella, was selling nice uncirculated examples for 25 cents each. Thinking that was an outrageous price, I resisted buying one because I was sure there would be more of them available later from circulation at face value.

I was incorrect, and that interaction taught me to be more thoughtful about first impressions. I contacted Emil at the next meeting to learn more and asked if I could purchase one. By then, he had raised his price to 50 cents each, which I declined. That seemed to be the right thing to do. By then, I knew Emil had a great many of them, all in brilliant-uncirculated condition. By the time I came to my senses and decided to buy one from him a few months later, he had raised the price to $3. So once again, I went home empty-handed with hopes of finding one elsewhere.

Near the end of the year, the unique doubled-die coins were becoming widely known.

Near the end of the year and just before the 1956 cents would be available, the unique doubled-die coins were becoming widely known. Advertisements listed them at about $10 each. After bothering all my local banks with requests , I realized I had better buy a couple while they were still available. One I bought from Emil, who had purchased several rolls of them from his local bank. 

Sadly, when the coins he sold for pennies reached about $100 each, he began to dwell on the profit he might have made by holding on to them. His disappointment and remorse ultimately drove him to give up coin dealing and turn to other interests. 

By chance, another place where the error coins became available was from a cigarette manufacturer that packaged its product for sale in vending machines. At that time, the cigarettes cost 37 cents. To accommodate this, the buyer had to insert 40 cents, and the smokes would come out wrapped in cellophane, sometimes with three of the special pennies as change. 

By 1958 the curious 1955 cents became a desirable collector variety. Hobbyists were pressuring Whitman to include them in A Guide Book of United States Coins (the “Red Book”) and blue coin folders. I had just begun working with Red Book author R.S. Yeoman, and we had many conversations about the topic. My solution was to survey our customers and abide by their opinions, which we did. As a result, I then had to create a name for the new variety. I decided to call them doubled-die coins, which added a new name to our numismatic vernacular and one that has lasted ever since.