Sorry for crude pics. I found this coin at a pawn shop a few months ago. It is currently in "limbo" at PCGS. I pointed out 5 die breaks but there are more. It's hard to see from the terrible pics but the top of the letters "TWE" have the retained cud. Thoughts?
While the modern MS-70 coinage is pretty, they don't have the charm, history, or stories to tell of our 18th and 19th century coinage. IMHO. Thanks for sharing a neat coin.
To be clear, I haven't seen the term donkey tail in reference to a 20C coin before. But based on the criteria for the Morgan Dollar, it is a donkey tail.
Thanks! I was excited to find it. You don't come across them often in those settings (especially in decent shape with cool errors).
Die cracks ARE die breaks. But thanks. https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/die-crack-error-coins-to-look-for/
In my 50+ years folks used the term die cracks. The last few years it seems that more are using "die breaks". I'll just stick with cracks.
I think it's both. Die breaks cause die cracks, cud, die chips, etc. There were so many "cracks" I thought it more appropriate to call them breaks because it obviously was a major die failure. Don't think it matters. Lol.
Nope, dies (usually) start out fine, then they crack, and then if they remain in use eventually pieces break off the die, die breaks. That is the definition of a die break, a piece of the die has actually broken completely free of the main die body. In some cases the piece may still be present (This typically happens with anvil dies where the collar holds the piece in place to some extent.) in that case you have a retained die break. In some cases the time interval between the die cracking and the die breaking may be VERY short, even in the same strike, but the crack always precedes the break. You can have die cracks without die breaks, but you can't have die breaks without die cracks. So die cracks, die is still in one piece, die breaks, die is in multiple pieces. Not the same thing. Sorry, but I am a stickler for proper terms, it makes conveying information easier and helps prevent misunderstandings. For example from the title of this thread, before opening it I expected to see the reverse of a 20 cent piece showing multiple places where pieces of the die had broken away leaving no impression on the coin. That would be something most unusual and something I don't believe I have seen before. Instead I see a coin showing multiple die cracks. Still interesting, but not as unusual as a piece with multiple die breaks would have been.