Strange Double Struck 1944 Cent

Which coin are you now talking about, Matt or yours? In any case, U.S. coins with horizontal misalignments of 50% and greater are known. Horizontal misalignments on the second strike of up to 40% are known. Misalignments can be quite dynamic, changing dramatically from one strike to the next. They can also be quite static. It all depends on the underlying press malfunction. Dynamic misalignments with significant lateral displacement most likely reflect a loose, unstable die assembly.

Horizontal misalignments of the anvil die of up to 15% have been recorded. There may be larger ones, but during some years (both here and in other countries), both the obverse die and the reverse die have been enlisted as anvil dies. When this sort of uncertainty exists, it can be hard to to say which die was the anvil die in a particular coin.

 

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Great information. Thanks.

 

Thanks for this. A 40% die shift between strikes is quite drastic, and impressive! I can only imagine what sound the poor coin press would be making, when this happened!!

 

The biggest possible misalignment I've seen amounted to over 90%. However, the impression on the planchet may have been made by a die fragment, rather than an intact die. The biggest confirmed misalignments I've seen on U.S. coins are 50%.

 

Mike the coin that belongs to Matt may make you pull your hair out then you would be bald like me. LOL I have looked at this one probably 20 times because it is so unusal and each time I see another thing that don't look good . I can not even determine which words in the motto IN GOD WE TRUST belong to the first or secomd strike. the letters of E PLURIBUS UNUM on the reverse appear to be from 2 different dies because they appear to be spaced apart different between strikes , then there is that awesome doubling between these letters . I have seen this type doubling on one other coin but can't remember if it was determined fake or not. in the photo the obv. looks to be artifically colored then there is that extra width in the diameter that Matt mentioned. you should be able to examine it better after you get it in hand. photos can make thing appear to be different.

 

I can now confirm that the second strike features a horizontal misalignment of the anvil die (and collar). The greatest lateral excursion of the obverse design is 0.4mm while the greatest lateral excursion of the reverse design is 1.3mm (as measured with an ocular micrometer). The first strike was in-collar and the second out-of-collar.

I could find no definitive evidence of a third strike.

 

Mike if this coin does turn out to be a real mint error and only struck twice one of the dies must have come loose somehow and tilted over on a sharp angle for the second strike. in the words IN GOD WE TRUST the second strike shows the word TRUST nice and sharp , then the words IN GOD WE are mushy and flat looking for the second strike. this looks like most of the pressure from the die was on the right side of the coin during the last strike. I think this may be why the words IN GOD WE TRUST looks so unusal . these unusal coins are always fun to study and learn from.

 

Beautiful lookingn coin.

Could the coin have been hung up on the obverse die after the 2nd strike? I've never seen images of the machinery so I'm really clueless on exactly how the machines operate.

 

The coin itself rotated slightly in a clockwise direction after the first strike so that the details of the second strike are rotated counterclockwise relative to the first strike. Rotational movement is seen on both faces, although it's easier to detect on the obverse face because there was no horizontal misalignment of the obverse (hammer) die.

 

Those darn ghost letters in the motto tho... Any theories?

Matt

 

I suspect that these are simply traces of first-strike letters that got smeared by the second strike but weren't completely erased.

 

An alternative explanation, and one that I have no way to disprove, would argue that, during the second strike, the coin was off-center toward northwest (obverse perspective) and that, simultaneously, the obverse die developed a horizontal misalignment toward the northwest of the exact same magnitude. That would maintain obverse centering while the reverse would appear off-center.

This is a constant, vexing possibility for MAD anvil dies, except for the one specimen in which a broken collar continued to surround the planchet.

Still, for this 1944 cent I'll opt for the "if it looks like a duck" approach and assign it to the category it appears to resemble.

 

If anyone is interested in a further explanation, it is the topic for Mike's Errors and Varieties column in the Coin World that just came out - 9-9-13. Page 67

 

Link?

 

I don't think you can see it unless you are subscribed and if you are subscribed, you already have the link, but anyway.

http://editions.amospublishing.com/WDCN/default.aspx?d=20130909

 

You got that right. Can you fill us in?

 

Since I am a horrible typist and they will not let me copy it, try this;

 

Very nicely done. Thanks.

 

Like your knowledge about dies and stamping. Maybe you can respond to my new "thread" today.
I would be interested in your opinions, or suggestions!
Thanks, J.P.