PART VI. Striking Errors:
Saddle Strikes:
With Hump
Definition: A saddle strike occurs when a planchet or coin is struck simultaneously by two adjacent die pairs. Such a situation can only arise in a dual or quad press. A quad press contains a total of four die pairs arranged in two couplets. The unstruck interval between the two tandem off-center strikes often buckles upward, forming a hump or a “saddle”.
Above is a photograph of an undated Jefferson nickel with a humped saddle strike. The larger of the two off-center strikes is uniface, meaning that the reverse face was struck against an underlying planchet.
Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.