Here is a very poignant medal paying tribute to Queen Mary's death (from smallpox). Is the irregularity on the reverse caused by a die break? Thanks ahead of time, guy
Hard to say the pictures are too small. It could be a die crack, but die cracks that are wholly contained inside the die are unusual. Another possibility would be die chips which are a form of die break where small pieces of the die break off between the incuse features in the die.
It is uncommon to see die cracks that travel through the design elements of a coin .. not unheard of, but uncommon. The design elements are incuse in the die so that they come out in relief on the coin. Almost all die cracks are found in the fields of the coins/dies, because that is where the greatest stress from the presses occurs .. on the flat, smashing surface, normally starting from a "stress concentration" point (an angle, sharp turn, or point) and traveling from there. The design elements of the coin are physically squished/squezzed into the incuse die elements by the enormous force of the presses. There is much less specific pressure put on the recessed design elements than on the field/face of the die. While it appears to be a wide die crack, it could be a die flaw, pit, or other anomoly with the die .. or it could be a sliver of metal that was on the planchet when it was struck by the press .. kind of smooshed/added onto the coin. A larger definition photo with higher resolution would answer the question.
It depends of course But instead of focusing on grade for these pieces I find it better to focus on value because even if they do not affect the grade they most certainly will affect the eye appeal/value. For most coins, die breaks and cracks do not detract from the grade and often vastly increase the value because it represents a late die state. On the other hand, plachet issues like fissures or lamination can often detract from the eye appeal and value of a coin.
