I need help. A friend of mine asked me to look over an "inherited and abandoned" collection of coins. A strange design on the obverse of a 1924 Mercury dime caught my eye. (Please look at the attached two photos.) What appears to be a vertical "branch" with little leaves on it goes up what should be a blank field behind Liberty's head. At first I thought it was caused by a stray wire of some sort that became welded to the face of the dime after being caught between the die and the planchet, but a closer look has convinced me that it is not extraneous metal but is integral to the basic metal of the coin. My (amateur) guess is that it was caused by multiple gouges in the obverse die that produced this design. I would very much appreciate your advice and opinions on the following: 1.) Is this the sort of error that is of interest to collectors? 2.) Who, or what agency, is appropriate to examine the coin and render an opinion as to cause and authenticity? The dime obviously escaped the mint and shows signs of normal wear (it's at least VG). It would seem (to me) that others might have escaped also. Have you ever seen other 1924 dimes like this?
The pics aren't the best but it looks like it could be a die clash. It looks to be the reverse olive brach of the Merc dime.I have 1 with the leaves on the other side of the bust but not as profound as yours. Nice coin.... John
Thanks Conder101, you aren't the only one who has told me that. Maybe I'm just being stubborn (and admittedly ignorant), but the "stem" and the "leaves" are raised from the surface. Would someone have actually tried to do some tiny welding? I'm going to take it to a dealer sometime over the weekend and have it looked at. My curiosity about the how and why is really bugging me!
The obverse, left ( in front of Liberty's face) is from a clashed die. I cannot see the other side (behind head) to decide. Do the same close up as you did in the last picture.
Enough people have told me that it is post-mint damage (including Mr. Weinberg) that I reluctantly gave up my hope that I had discovered a mint error and took the dime out of its holder for a closer look. Rats! Under a 10X loupe I can see the gouges under the "leaves" that kicked up the metal to form them. The "stem" likewise was raised by a straight scratch (gouge, really) that was mostly filled in with tarnish and/or grime. Thanks to all of you who considered and offered an opinion. It's been an education to me about enthusiasm overcoming observation!
