Double or multiple strike

Double or multiple strike occurs when a coin is struck two or more times before being ejected from the beating chamber.
This error can occur with the second strike hit, off-center or both hits off-center. Coins with multiple strike look the same. In fact, this type of error can be combined with many other minting errors. Furthermore, there are coins in the world that have been withdrawn from circulation and subsequently reused for the production of “new” coins, skipping the melting process.

Regno d'Italia - Vittorio Emanuele III - 20 Centesimi 1940 R Impero
O/ and R/ Off-center strike on a first regular strike. Accardo Collection

Repubblica Italiana - 50 Lire 1978 R Vulcano I tipo
O/ and R/ Double off-center strike. Bozza collection

Regno d'Italia - Vittorio Emanuele III - Buono da 2 Lire 1923 R
O/ and R/ Off-center strike on a first regular strike. Sapienza collection

This is the case of the 20 cents hexagon 1918 and 1919 coins voluntarily struck on 20 cents 1894 and 1895 coins produced under the reign of Umberto I. These coins, considered emergency, were overturned to cope with the severe monetary crisis that afflicted the Italy during the First World War.

Usually, the coins withdrawn from circulation are melted into ingots used for the production of new planchets. In the case of the 20 cents hex this process was skipped. The coins were simply heated to make them more malleable before hitting them again.

On many pieces of this coin it is possible to detect traces of the previous dies and some examples appear to have a striped outline (curiosity E.B.14). This phenomenon arises from the incorrect heating of the coins.
In very rare cases, this curiosity can evolve into a coincidence presenting itself as two different coins minted in perfect axis on a single planchet (E.B.15).

(E.B.14) 20 Centesimi 1918 R Esagono - Vittorio Emanuele III
D/ e R/ Double ghost, 20 Cent. 1918 R struck on 20 Cent. 1894 K.B.

In very rare cases, this curiosity can evolve into a coincidence presenting itself as two different coins minted in perfect axis on a single planchet (E.B.15).

(E.B.15) 20 Centesimi 1918 R Esagono - Vittorio Emanuele III
O/ and R/ 20 Cent. 1918 R struck on 20 cent. 1895 R “Coincidence” axes aligned at 0°. Sena Coins collection

In extreme cases, double or multiple strike can be combined with other types of minting errors (E.B.16).

(E.B.11) Repubblica Italiana - 5 Lire 1950 R Uva
O/ and R/ Double strike slightly misaligned with rotated axis. Partial collar on the first regular minting. Irregular edge. SEB collection

Repubblica Italiana - 500 Lire 1982 R Quirinale
O/ and R/ Multiple strike. Pierro collection

Repubblica Italiana - 100 Lire senza data Minerva II tipo
O/ and R/ Multiple strike. Die cap coin. Palazzari collection.

Repubblica Italiana - 50 Lire 1989 R Vulcano I tipo
O/ and R/ Triple strike. Mosca collection

Use the keyword double or multiple strike in the global search engine to view all the coins with this type of error. Login or Sign up to insert new coins in the search engine and know the prices and rarity of all the coins in our database. The service is totally free.