1980 Lincoln Penny Dropped Letter

There is a Y in the lincoln memorial that is incuse. There is also a T next to it but you can't see in the photos. Are these dropped letters, and is it possible to have them right in a row??

 

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This is mostlikely from a die clash. this is where the Y ends up when the dies clash together.

 

Weird how a die clash mark can be incuse. I would question that. Dropped letter? possible

 

I agree with Rascal that it's a clash. In the next bay you can see the back of Lincolns coat. It's the most common place for a clash on memorials.

 

I'm willing to bet you were looking for a nice doubled die for that year. It's okay, this is one of the key dates I search for the DDO. That's an interesting die clash though, I bet the guys at CONECA would love to see that. Nice find!

 

If the 'Y' is the results of a clash of the dies and the 'Y' is incuse in the die, how could that result in a incuse in the opposing die? In other words, a clash mark would leave a raised imprint. Or the cheap wine is effecting my mind here.

 

It's hard to tell sometimes in pics what's in relief and what's incuse. Some pics that you see where you absolutely know the design is in relief your brain will tell you that you are seeing it as incuse. And that's when I was perfectly straight. :smile The third pic to me looks the most in relief.

 

Since the OP says it's incuse "There is a Y in the lincoln memorial that is incuse." and the lighting indicates it, I will still question it as a dropped letter.

 

To the OP. In your pic there's a mark in the bay to the left of the bay with the Y in it. Is that mark raised or is it incuse too?

 

A clash appears on the coin the same way as it does on the die. It's like a negative of the image on the die, and then another negative of that which brings it back to the same orientation as is on the original die.

 

I know what they are but for those who are confused here's some info;
Taken from PCGS pages.
clash marks
The images of the dies seen on coins struck from clashed dies. The obverse will have images from the reverse and vice versa.
clashed dies
Dies that have been damaged by striking each other without a planchet between them. Typically, this imparts part of the obverse image to the reverse die and vice versa.

 

The TY is incuse in the die. The fields clash together, leaving a slightly raised TY on the reverse die, which strikes the incuse clashed letters. IIRC...

 

Here's one good way to explain a clashed die so everyone can understand it. a severe clashed die coin looks identical to what we call a hammer job. a clashed die will make a mirror image of whatever design the dies comes into contact with like say a letter or number on a coin will end up being incuse if it is from a die clash because the letter was incuse on the normal die.. if a raised up part of a die clashes then that area will be raised up on the clashed die coin. this is why some clashed die details on a die clash coin can be incuse or raised up. in other words when the dies clashes they make the same impression on the coins as the dies normally have before they clash.

 

There aren't really "raised up" features on a die for a typical coin. There is the flat level of the fields, and anything that will be struck in relief onto a coin is incuse in those fields. When a die clash appears in relief on a coin, it's only because the areas surrounding it are incuse. In reality, what looks to be in relief is only at the level of the fields inside an incuse clash.

 

The Y is Incuse, and the line next to it is the typical clash you see from lincolns vest as someone pointed out. Now I'm thinking it's a clash because of the Y being about the right distance from the vest clash, and the fact there is a fiant T next to the Y. Kind of sucks. I was hoping for a dropped letter.

 

It's still a neat clash, you don't find them very often with the lettering showing up like that.

 

If someone told you a dog was white you would have to say it is black. surely you don't think every detail in a coin die's design is flat or just incuse. don't you understand that there are ridges and valleys in a coin die's design. this is what creates the images on the coins.

 

Here's a picture of a coin with a dropped letter. Notice how it is incuse not raised

Read more: http://www.cointalk.com/t197686/#ixzz1iWsHZKS7
http://www.ngccoin.com/images/enews/0503_Droppedphoto5_lg.jpg

 

Hey rockdude all dropped letters are incuse because the coin die pushes them into the planchet when stricking a coin. a large piece called a die filling can also fall out of a clogged die and sink the details and many numbers incuse and reversed on a coin planchet when striking the coin. this is very important to learn because one like this is almost priceless and I think I may own one and you may know the coin I'm talking about. a dropped letter or die filling looks almost the same as a extra number or design on a clashed die coin. if all or part of a worn out die cap finally comes loose from the die and falls out onto a new planchet the entire design of the letters and details on the super thin die cap gets pushed into the new coin by the coin dies. this way you can have numerous dropped letters and details on one coin. I saw a authenticated one like this sell on Ebay and it went too high for me. a dropped letter or a letter from a clashed die looks almost identical except the dropped letters sometimes have a mushy look to them.

 

So are you saying that this incuse 'Y' is the result of clash marks from clashed dies? If so then the obverse of this coin may have marks on it as well.