Search Results for: Doubled die

2012 01 16

High-bouncing
die leaves offset, incuse machine doubling

By
Mike Diamond-Special to Coin World | Jan. 07, 2012
9:56 a.m.

Article
first published in 2012-01-16, Expert Advice section of Coin World

This 2011-D Olympic
National Park quarter dollar shows incuse machine doubling affecting the
southeast arc of peripheral lettering (E PLUR). The bottom of each affected
letter is smeared, and a second set of letters peeks out above the normal
letters.

Images by Mike Diamond

In 2010, the U.S. Mint
began striking quarter dollars for its America the Beautiful program. Each coin
features a reverse design that celebrates a national park or other site of
national significance. A raised perimeter ring on the reverse face houses an array
of incuse design elements.

The presence of these
incuse elements raises the odds of seeing new or unusual effects, even in so
humble an error category as machine doubling.

Machine doubling
occurs immediately after the hammer die has reached the lowest point of its
downstroke. It generally reflects instability in the die, die assembly or the
coinage press as a whole.

In some cases, either
die can rebound from the surface of the coin, shift laterally and land lightly
on the newly struck design elements. This produces marginal shelving at the
edge of the design, but can result in clear duplication of interior design
details.

In other cases, a die
simply shifts laterally after the hammer die reaches its lowest point. This
causes smearing of the newly-struck design and the piling up of relocated metal
into a series of ridges.

Raised and incused
designs

While the same die
motions affect both raised and incuse design elements, the resulting appearance
is rather different in the latter. This has caused some cases of incuse machine
doubling to be mistaken for a doubled die (hub doubling), a mishap that results
from multiple impressions of a working hub into a working die. An example of
deceptive machine doubling in a 2010 Grand Canyon National park 5-ounce silver bullion
coin was recently discussed by Ken Potter (http://numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=17345).

A commemorative
quarter dollar recently found in pocket change by Alex Tuel further illustrates
the ease with which incuse machine doubling can be mistaken for other sorts of
minting errors and die varieties. The coin in question is a 2011-D Olympic
National Park quarter dollar.

Tuel first presented
his specimen on the message board of Lincoln Cent Resource (www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/showthread.php?t=17470&page=3).
Photographs provided by Tuel showed a second set of overlapping letters (E
PLUR) that were offset and independent from their normal counterparts. The
extra letters are much thinner than the normal ones.

Early opinions
gravitated toward a doubled die or a Type II counterclash. The latter is a form
of patterned die damage that results when a hard piece of metal is struck twice
(see Collectors’ Clearinghouse, Sept. 29, 2008).

I suspected machine
doubling (as did others), but couldn’t be sure just by looking at the photos.
So I asked Alex to send me the coin and he generously obliged. An examination
under a microscope confirmed my suspicions.

The bottom (outer)
portions of the letters E PLURIBUS show conspicuous smearing, a sign of
unwanted movement in the reverse (hammer) die or hammer die assembly. The
second set of letters was evidently caused by a high bounce of the hammer die
after it reached the lowest point of its downstroke.

Forming incused
letters

Remember that the
incuse letters on the coin are created by raised letters on the die face that
extend well beyond the plane of the surrounding field. In this series, the
perimeter ring is recessed on the die face and the letters stick up from its
floor. The hammer die’s bounce would have carried those raised letters
completely out of the recessed letters they’d just created. A slight shift to
the northwest positioned those raised letters directly above the raised
perimeter ring of the coin. Descending from the apex of its bounce, the hammer
die made light contact with the coin’s perimeter ring. This light impact
produced the second set of letters in the field. The reason they’re so thin is
that, in cross-section, the apex of each raised letter is narrower than its
base, and only the apex left an impression.

A high bounce with a
strong lateral shift will sometimes generate odd effects on coins with
conventional raised designs. Previous installments of Collectors’ Clearinghouse
introduced the phenomenon of “rim-restricted design duplication” (Feb. 22,
2010, Aug. 22, 2011). This form of machine doubling leaves an entirely separate
set of raised design elements on the newly-formed design rim.

Coin
World’s Collectors’ Clearinghouse department
does not accept coins or other items for examination without prior permission
from News Editor William T. Gibbs. Materials sent to Clearinghouse without
prior permission will be returned unexamined. Please address all Clearinghouse
inquiries tocweditor@coinworld.com or to 800-673-8311,
Ext. 172.

http://www.coinworld.com/articles/high-bouncing-die-leaves-offset-incuse-machin/

1956 D Lincoln Cent With Partial 5 Digit

PART II. Die Varieties:

Repunched Date:

1956-D Lincoln cent with repunched 5 (controversial)

Definition: A repunched date is produced when a numeral (or several numerals) is punched more than once into a working die, with movement of the punch or die between impacts. On the coin, this results in two overlapping numbers of the same type. A repunched date always involves the same numerals. If different numerals are involved, then we call it an overdate.

Repunched dates should not be confused with doubled dies, re-engraved dates, or misplaced dates.

For U.S. coins, the era of repunched dates ended in 1908. Beginning in 1909, the date was placed on the master hub or the master die. As a result, any claims of repunched dates later than 1908 must be greeted with extreme skepticism.

The 1956-D Lincoln cent pictured above is believed by some to have a partially tilted, extra 5 beneath the normal 5. Those who suspect this is a repunched date argue that it is a fouled-up master die was re-used as a working die. While this is possible, it seems unlikely. The horizontal bar seems unaccountably thin, while the vertical bar terminates abruptly and has an unexplained dimple at its base. Skeptics argue that this is a simulacrum produced by two accidental die gouges or die dents.

1957 D With Repunched Date

PART II. Die Varieties:

Repunched Date:

1957-D Lincoln cent with repunched 7 (controversial)

Repunched dates should not be confused with doubled dies, re-engraved dates, or misplaced dates.

The 1957-D Lincoln cent seen in the image above has a diagonal bar to the left of the top of the 7 digit in the date. Similar in nature to the 1956-D Lincoln cent with “repunched” 5 digit, an argument could be made that a mis- engraved or mis-punched master die was used as a working die. While this is possible, it seems highly unlikely.

A more feasible scenario is that the anomaly is a die dent or gouge.

The photo used is a facsimile.

1958 D Lincoln Cent With Extra 7 Digit In Date

PART II. Die Varieties:

Overdate:

1958/7-D Lincoln cent (debunked)

Definition: An overdate affects a single working die. An overdate is created when one numeral is punched over a different numeral. If the second punch involves the same numeral, we call it a repunched date.

Overdates should not be confused with repunched dates, doubled dies, re-engraved dates, or misplaced dates. They should also not be confused with Class III double dies (design hub doubling). The latter also can result in overlapping, dissimilar numbers, but the process is entirely different. Class III doubled dies that result in overlapping, dissimilar numbers are sometimes called overdates, but this is not correct.

For U.S. coins, the overdate era ended in 1908. Beginning in 1909, the date was placed on the master hub or the master die. As a result, any claims of overdates later than 1908 must be greeted with extreme skepticism.

This 1958-D Lincoln cent was once thought to be an overdate. A cluster of die gouges or die dents formed a pattern that resembles a partial 7 beneath the terminal 8.

1988(P) DDO – 003

Part II. Die Varieties:

Doubled Dies:

Class IV (Offset Hub Doubling)

Pictures and an overlay showing 1988 DDO-003. A strong offset and likely tilted ear was hubbed south of the primary ear.

All doubled die illustrations are by Jason Cuvelier.

1872 Dime with 175 Degree Rotation

PART II. Die Varieties:

Doubled Dies

Class I (Rotated Hub Doubling)

1872 Seated Liberty Dime with 175° clockwise rotation

This 1872 Seated Liberty dime has a dramatic reverse doubled die. The first hubbing was almost completely erased
by the second hubbing, which was rotated 175° (clockwise) relative to the first hubbing. However, traces of the first hubbing are still seen on the reverse.

The image below and to the left shows those parts of the first hubbing that are still visible (white arrows). The image to the right is an overlay showing the positions of the two hubbings.

Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Mule Clash

Part IV. Die Errors:

Clashed Dies:

Mule Clash

Definition: Clash marks from dies that should never have been paired. Mule clashes were, until recently, considered a 19th century phenomenon. Six are known from this century:

An 1857 Flying Eagle cent that shows a clash between its obverse die and the obverse die of a $20 double eagle gold coin.
An 1857 Flying Eagle cent that shows a clash between its reverse die and the reverse die of a Seated Liberty quarter dollar.
An 1857 Flying Eagle cent that shows a clash between its obverse die and the obverse die of a Seated Liberty half dollar.
An 1857 Seated Liberty quarter dollar that shows a clash between its reverse die and the reverse die of an 1857 Flying Eagle cent.
An 1864 2 cent coin that shows a clash between its reverse die and the obverse die of an Indian Head cent.
An 1870 Shield nickel that shows a clash between its obverse die and the obverse die of an Indian Head cent.

It’s widely suspected that all of these mule clashes are the result of mischief by mint employees.

The latest mule clash was discovered in 2018 by Amy Antone in a pile of cents diverted from pocket change. It appears on the reverse face of a 1999 cent. Appearing on the left side, just inside the design rim, is an arc of incuse, mirror-image letters (“oF AMERIC”). The letters are doubled, documenting two die clashes that were slightly offset from each other. The tops of the letters are slightly cut off, indicating that the die responsible for the clash was slightly misaligned toward the left. The peripheral location of the letters indicates that one of the two dies (presumably the hammer die), was tilted.

It’s not clear whether the two dies were actually installed in a press at the time of the clash. It’s also unclear whether this clash was accidental or intentional. This bizarre clash comes from an 11-year time period (1990-2000) that produced over 34 “radical MAD clashes” in Lincoln cents. All of these clashes are weak, tilted, and often drastically misaligned. The conditions that led to these clashes may have contributed to the production of this mule clash.

Rotational Machine Doubling

Part VI. Striking Errors

Machine Doubling

Rotational Machine Doubling

Definition: Machine doubling that occurs when a die rotates after reaching maximum depth of penetration into the coin. It can occur on either face or both faces simultaneously. It can manifest either as push doubling or slide doubling.

This 1996-P nickel shows rotational machine doubling on both faces in the same direction. It conforms to the push doubling subtype, as marginal shelving is well developed. Since the direction and distance of the displacement is the same on both faces, there’s a good chance that it was the newly-struck coin that rotated, instead of the dies. This could have been accomplished by by a rotating collar.

For more information, see this article: http://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2015/07/when-machine-doubling-is-doubled–collectors–clearinghouse.html

Reduction Lathe Doubling

PART II. Die Varieties:

Reduction Lathe Doubling

This form of raised doubling is subtle and characterizes all coins produced in a particular year, and sometimes over many years. It is produced in the initial stages of die preparation, as a large bias relief model of the design is transferred to a master hub by use of a Janvier Reduction Lathe. This device works in basically the same way as an artist’s pantograph. Vibration during the prolonged transfer process can result in slight duplication along the edge of the design.

For more information concerning reduction lathe doubling click HERE

The first year of the Lincoln cent production saw a reduction lathe doubling. This occurred in the BE of LIBERTY as an extra, thin bar on the vertical of the B and a notching on the top, left of the E.These anomalies lasted throughout the Lincoln cent production, in varying degrees, until the year 1956, when LIBERTY was re-engraved.

Other Design Elements

PART II: Repunched Design Elements:

Other Design Elements

Definition: A repunched design element is one that has been applied to a master or working die and inadvertently punched into that device twice or more.

The image to the right shows a repunched design element, specifically a period between the N and Y. This repunched design element is found on the 1863 Broas Brothers Pie Bakers store card token.

Many older coins show individual design elements repunched into the working die or master die. This action took place after the hubbing of the die. The image to the right shows a repunched star on a 1891, Dos Centavos from Argentina. Notice that the denticles next to the star are not doubled. If the denticles were doubled, this may have indicated that the star was actually on the master hub when the dies were made.