PART VI. Striking Errors:

Capped Die Strikes:

Capped Die Doubling:

Incuse

Definition: A late-stage die cap is one whose working face is featureless. Regardless of whether the working face ever carried a design in the first place, the surface is wiped clean after having struck a succession of planchets.

When a coin is struck through a late-stage die cap, a raised ghost image of the obverse design bleeds through the thin floor of the cap. On rare occasions, the coin is also left with incuse images.

A late-stage die cap sometimes clashes directly with the opposite die, picking up a fresh, but incomplete design. This is then transferred to the next few planchets as an incomplete, secondary brockage. This type of brockage is known as a clashed cap strike.

This 1990-P dime displays a typical clashed cap strike (first impression). This was the first planchet struck after the obverse (hammer) die cap collided directly with the reverse die. In that collision it picked up an incomplete array of reverse die elements (the floor of the cap was too thin to pick up the full design). It then transferred the raised elements on the working face of the die cap to theplanchet represented by this coin. A strong ghost image of Roosevelt also bled through the thin floor of the die cap. Any time you see a juxtaposition of an unexpanded brockage with a strong raised ghost image, you’re dealing with a clashed cap strike.

When a late-stage die cap becomes dislodged and shifts laterally or rotates around its vertical axis, it leaves a set of normally-oriented incuse design elements on the next coin it strikes. If it shifts between strikes, then every coin will show additional sets of incuse design elements.

This 1991 cent was struck through a rotated, late-stage obverse die cap. It shows two complete sets of normally-oriented incuse design elements. This reflects that fact that there were two shift-and-strike events preceding the final strike that generated this coin.

A final category of incuse design elements involves the formation of an incuse outline paralleling large, centrally-located design elements, like busts. In such cases, the cap hasn’t shifted. It’s unclear why this odd effect develops.

Several types of incuse doubling associated with capped die strikes can be seen in the November 12, 2011 Coin World.

This undated nickel was struck through a late-stage die cap. Surrounding the raised ghost of Jefferson is an incuse corona.