Im new to collecting I've read alot but some things I rather post and let someone who knows tell me whats going on. is this a die break?
If you're asking about the squiggly thing above the E, that'd be called a die crack, I believe. A die break would need to reach an edge, I think. And, if the piece of the die falls off, it becomes known as a cud. Also, you might want to just post one thread at a time, instead of 8... it makes you look less like a potential spambot.
Agreed. And other than the verdigris the only other thing I see is the blob in the lower loop of the "B". That I would label a "die chip".
Yes it is. They are also called chips or a piece out of the die. Whatever you see on a coin is opposite on the die. The B as well all letters and digits on the Lincoln are recessed and backwards, like a mirror on the die. Because they are recessed they become the weakest part of the die. It's like scooping dirt away from the side of a dirt mound, it weakens the dirt above until the mound caves in. Similary, when they cut letters into the die the inside of the letters exist in a weakened state, even before the die is used. The lower part of the R, at one time, was sought out by collectors of the BIE Guild. It was called a skirted R. And if only the upper part of the lower R chipped, it was a "mini-skirt."
