Category: Uncategorized

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A planchet can obtain extra metal during the annealing process when there’s left over metal debris from the annealing of other planchets. The alloy debris will collect and form a flan along the edge of the planchet and sometimes this can be struck by the die and “folded” or embedded into the coin’s rim, but will still be above the normal surface of the coin.

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A shattered die is a die that has extensive cracks and is still being used to strike coins; even though it is in a terminal stage and state. The breaks and cracks show up on the coin as raised areas were the planchet metal tries to fill in the voids in the die face.

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Broken die occurs when there’s impurities in the alloy, created a weak fracture line in the planchet, that when struck by the force of the die it seperates into two pieces.

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Worn and over-used dies can result in all types of anomalies but we’re referring to dies in which mint employees attempted to prolong the life of the die and inadvertently filed off design features. In return this created some valuable die varieties that are highly collected today. However, not all missing design features make a coin valuable, there’s many instances of a coin being struck through grease or over-filed to remove clash marks but no extra value is added.

It’s all about demand and if there’s two or more just alike and if it is sent in to be attributed by a professional with a press follow-up.

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Trail dies are a result of the hubbing or die creation process and are die varieties but it is not completely understood how they’re created. Possible this is similar to strike doubling but caused by the squeeze method where the hub die drag on along the surface of the working die just after retracting from the squeeze.

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When the mint mark is not added to the master or working die. These are not to be confused with mint marks removed from the die when a mint employee was filing away clash marks or trying to prolong the life of the die.

1922 No D Lincoln Cent is not an example of an omitted mint mark, it was on the die but accidentally removed. Struck through grease filled die is also not an omitted mint mark.

Omitted mint marks are mostly known for proofs without the S, but there is a 1982 Roosevelt Dime without a P mint mark, but Lincoln Cents never had a P mint mark until 2017. So no mint mark cents are normal and where minted at the Philadelphia Mint.

Before the 1990’s mint marks were punched onto the die by use of a hand punch and were not initially part of the die’s design, and an RPM happened when it is punched out of position or to weakly punched, or when the punch broke and the mint employee attempts to punch it again and correct the mistake.

A die gouge can be defined as any foreign object, rubbed, scraped, dropped or punched into the die, whether on purpose or accident, that creates a mark in the die. It will strike the coin and create a raised area the same shape and size as the gouge.

There’s several varieties for die scraped and gouges as well as feeder finger gouges and Rockwell test marks (small round raised area on a coin).

A die break is deeper than a die crack is actually a wider die crack, can result in a part of the die falling out and when it is rim to rim it is called a CUD. A CUD can be retained as in the image below or that part of the die can fall out and fill in with planchet metal forming what looks like a was of CUD; see first image.

 

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Below is an example of an actual 2005 Speared Bison Nickel to illustrate the difference between a die crack, above, and a die gouge. Link to 2005 Speared Bison

A die crack occurs when the stress on the die begins to cause fractures in the die face, these die cracks are not deep but are the beginning of the end for the die. Die cracks rarely add any extra value to a coin, but can be used as markers for know varieties called PUPs (Pick Up Points). In some cases when two or more coins were found with the very same die crack they have been attributed as a variety.

Die cracks rarely add value and are usually more of a die stage and state, but can be collectible when they’re larger, numerous and connect the rim to rim, referred to as a CUD.

At ebay, coins with die cracks can sell for a dollar up to a few dollars each depending on how large and which coin type and denomination the coin is. One will also find many coins with nicknames like “cracked skull” and many misidentified coins when searching online. A few sellers mistake delamination, linear plating blisters and scratches for die cracks.

Peace Dollar Die Crack – Polish Lines

“Cracked Skull”