Let's see your die clashes!

Post up your favorite coins with die clash marks! Let's see those clashes!

For those who may not be familiar with die clashes, a die clash happens when a die pair is pressed together without a planchet between them and the dies leave an impression on each other. Successive coins minted from those dies will have die clash marks as a result.

I love coins with heavy die clash marks! Here are my two favorites. I have included superimposed images to help illustrate how the clash marks were produced when the dies came together.:

1876 Seated Liberty Quarter
Look in the following locations:

• Left field immediately left of the back of the hand (clash from motto scroll curl and wing)
• Between the bottom of the pedestal and the date (clash from motto scroll)
• Right field immediately right of the lower leg (clash from wing)
• In-between the head and the pole, continuing down across the pole and forearm into the right field (clash from wing and leg)
• This one is faint. Above and below S9 (the star to the right of the cap) overlapping the star on both ends (clash from arrowheads)

Here's the reverse. You will find clash marks in the following locations:

• Line from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock passing under WE in the motto and angling down towards IN on the left side (clash from bottom of pedestal)
• In-between the left wing and the left motto curl (clash from pedestal)
• In-between the top of the left wing and the base of the neck (clash from shield)
• Where the right wing meets the neck up to the right motto curl (clash from leg)
• Under the right wing (clash from wrist and pole)
  
• Under the left wing (clash from arm)

1833 Capped Bust Quarter
You will find clash marks in the following locations:

• Under the ear (clash from shield stripes)
• This one is faint. In the left field in front of the bridge of the nose (clash from talon and branch)
• In front of the chin, at the intersection of the neck and chest, and at the edge of the chest near the top of the drapery (clash from wing)
• Right field behind the cap and top hair curl and continuing down into the right field (clash from wing)

Here's the reverse. You will find clash marks in the following locations:

• In-between the left wing and leg (clash from chin and lips)
• Under the right wing (clash from back of cap and hair curl)
• From the right wing tip down across the arrow shafts and down toward the denomination (clash from cap) This one continues across the denomination up to the left talon but that part is faint
• In-between several of the shield stripes (clash from the ear)

I hope you have enjoyed these clashes. Please post up some of your favorites!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

This is my favorite, and I have more than 15 examples of this particular token, showing the progression of the die failure. Three of the examples I have show evidence of a second die clash, as there is an ever so slightly offset second impression of the Indian head on the obverse.

 

very nicely done

 

I do too. I like heavy die polish as well.

Here is one that is better than the photos depict but that is what I had available without much searching.

Nice job on the superimposing of the images.

 

How the hell did that die stay in one piece?

 

On the first coin (the 1876 quarter), what's up with the ghostly "O" mint-mark? It doesn't appear to correspond to any obverse detail. Maybe it's just a toning artifact or post-mint hit, but it really, really looks like a mostly-effaced mint mark...

 

For mine, I don't have any stronger examples than this one I've posted previously:





I have the distinct impression that it's harder to find a three-cent nickel that isn't heavily clashed.

 

Ah good I was hoping someone would notice that! I haven't got a clue how that got there, but yes it's really there. It's not in the right place for a mint mark, but there is definitely a ghost O that matches the shape of the O in the motto.

For those that haven't spotted it yet, look slightly above and in-between the DO in the denomination right at the tip of the branch.

 

Thanks. I was surprised how much I learned about the coins by superimposing the images. The clash mark callouts I posted were the ones where I could already see them with the naked eye or a loupe. When I superimposed the images though, I noticed there were quite a few other spots where I could not directly see clash marks, but the toning pattern on the coin had clearly formed along where a clash would have occurred. Take the reverse on the 1833 quarter for example. I never would have noticed it without the superimposed obverse, but the reverse has a toning line within the beak that corresponds exactly to the edge of the clasp ribbon. There are several points on that coin just like that one where I had not previously considered there to have been a clash mark.

 

I'm getting 1891o VAM 1A next week, it's in the Top 100

 

I love that heavy clash on the reverse from Liberty's hair.

 

This one is a clash with the obverse of a $20 gold piece die and the obverse of a Flying Eagle cent die.

 

My favorite kind of errors. I have several ancients with clashed dies, I will show my most recent though.

Note the profile outline on the reverse of the temple.


Gallienus (253 - 268 A.D.)
AR Antoninianus
O: GALLIENVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right.
R: DEO MARTI, Mars in temple.
Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne) mint, 258-259 A.D.
21mm
3.45g
RIC 10

Reverse Die Clash

 

This one is a clash with a Flying Eagle Cent die.

 

And the matching clash from the Seated quarter.

 

Instead of a die clash, how about a clashed die. This die is for a 1/10th Oz silver bullion piece that had the dies kiss a few weeks ago. You can notice the clash marks of the eagles wings from the reverse die both in front of and behind Liberty below the flag. (FYI, the dies were installed with a medal alignment). While the die was being removed to be repaired it was dropped while still in the holder. Murphys law dictates that the die had to land on its face. With the extra added weight of the die holder several deep as the image dings were made on the face of the die, thus making the die un-repairable. If we die get the opportunity to repair the die, the clash marks would have been very carefully stoned and polished off the die, preferably without wiping out any of the surrounding images. The die would of had the matte finish re-applied and placed back in the press.

 

heres a modern clash

 

I have its twin lol