Struck through die cap mini-lesson

Hi folks,

Just passing through the error forum, and thought I'd post this one that I've had in my collection for a little bit.

This is a late-stage struck through die cap error. It occurs when a coin becomes stuck to the hammer die, and the die continues to strike other coins. Therefore, struck through die caps can often be identified by a coin with a similar appearance as you see below on one side, but with a completely normal other side.

Eventually, the coin that became stuck starts to wear thin, and some of the detail of the original hammer die can be seen. This can be seen on many late-stage examples where the design often shows an odd distortion, kind of like a bleeding or smearing of the details.



Do not confuse this error with a similar one, a struck through grease error. Although the basic premise of how it occurs is the same (debris prevents a full strike of the coin), there are some slight visual differences between the two. For example, lots of struck through grease errors are isolated in location, sometimes to single words in the motto or digits in the date. Struck through die caps nearly always affect the entire side of the coin.

I will post a few more error mini-lessons in the next week or two, stay tuned!

 

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Cool error and nice write-up!

 

Thanks for the info non_cents! Here a cent that I had certified with a nice grade! Sometimes it even looks like a clash like the one I have

 

great explanation!

 

Great thread and very informative! Thanks non cents!

 

Here is an example I found a while back that exhibits this.

 

That's way cool, ty! I really enjoy all of this, it helps keep my mind off my pain. I have three coins I will post in a few days, if i get the right photo, I hope you will check them out Non Cents. One I think is called a misalignment the other two I have no clue. One is a penny with various colors, probably nothing,The other is an American Gold Eagle 1/10 with a portion of the dress darker than the rest. Thanks!

 

Are those trail dies on radiating off liberty and the date ?

 

No, those aren't trails. It represents the bleeding or smearing of the details of the hammer die, after the cap was worn very thin.

 

Very good example of what I was talking about! When I was writing up the little lesson, that is pretty much the coin I imagined.