Mint-made errors 5 centavos. Foreign coins struck on a U.S coin planchet or vice versa are very uncommon and hold a high value. Authentic error coins should not be confused with coins that are damaged after being minted, which is known as post-mint damage (PMD) or post-strike damage (PSD). Mints purchase long strips of metal which are fed through blanking machines that punch out disks known as blank planchets (or simply as planchets or blanks) on which coins are struck. This determines the size and shape of eventual coins. The punched disks are first known as "type-1 blanks (or planchets)". The disks
Ernests Blanks Ernests Blanks Ernests Blanks ( in Braslava, Valmiera County, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire – 31 January 1972 in Palma, Majorca, Spain), publicist, the first to publicly advocate for Latvia's independence in 1917. Ernests Blanks was editorial writer of "Dzimtenes Atbalss" (Fatherland's Echo). At a time when others discussed Latvia's and, the other Baltic countries, autonomy, Ernests Blanks dared to demand sovereignty for Latvia. Already on Ernests Blanks unequivocally wrote: "Our ideal is a sovereign Latvia." After the state of Latvia had been established he reminded that the Latvians had regained their long lost freedom. For some time he was