It's possible, but I am a tad skeptical because you shouldn't see the clash as strong on Lincoln's bust as you would in the fields. When the two dies contact one another, the devices are the deepest part. Therefore, the fields would show the heaviest contact. Chris
Definitely not a clash. Looks like someone tried to fake a flipover double strike. They didn't do the reverse though.
This. By the time clashing details can be seen on devices, which are recessed and therefore strongly protected from clashing, one would expect almost complete detail reproduction on the fields, which are the first place the clash affects. Between that and the knowledge that a clash this strong would completely destroy both dies, I think it's safe to assume that it didn't happen at the Mint. The fact that the transferred details are strongest at the highest point of the devices (lowest point on the die) is actually pretty clear proof that it happened postMint. A flipover double strike would obliterate the original strike to a greater extent than we see here. With all that said, it's a pretty darn strong "clash" to be easily accomplished while playing around in your workshop. A negative had to be created, strong and accurate enough to make that second strike clear. This is the place where most would stop and move on, since we know it's PMD. Me, I'm curious and want to know how they did it.
Agreed! Most of the time, I could care less about how someone caused the PMD, but this is one of the more unusual instances where it helps to understand how it was accomplished. Chris
Yeah, exactly. Can't call it "good" work, because it's now a deceptive coin, but our best weapon against scammers and counterfeiters is knowledge. I'd sure like to know how this one came to be, so I can better identify the technique in the future since it's obviously good enough to create this kind of deception.
As I hoped you guys came thru for me. Learn me something tough what is the fields? Are you talking about the blank spaces on each side of the bust?
Yes. Contemplate a die - it obviously is the reverse of a coin, the depressions in the die are what become the raised parts of the coin. The "fields" are the original top surface of the die, everything that's not going to fill with metal during the strike. Obviously, when two dies come together in a clash, the fields will be contacted first and you can see how difficult it is to hit hard enough for detail to be transferred under the field surface. It's very rare that a die is tilted enough relative to the other, to make that much difference in a clash. So clash detail appearing at the very highest points of the struck coin - the very lowest points of the die - is simply impossible. And keep in mind, a clashed letter will read "backwards" on the coin it's struck onto. The fun part of this coin is, though, the overstruck stuff is "forward" reading just like a die would have done it. This, post Mint, isn't easy.
