I have recently come across a 2001 canadian 10 cent with very strange markings. Ive looked through the books i have on errors, and a coin struck on a blank with with extra metal seems to be the most logical of scenarios thus far. At first i thought it might have been struck on a planchet with extra metal, but there is no separation on the rim. A brief description: at the bottom of the coin, on the face, there are what appear to be teardrop like flowing metal protrusions from elizabeth and II, distorting all of the characters. the reverse shows very similar effects, except far fewer of them. Im unable to post a picture right now due to technical difficulties with my camera, but any help or suggestions would be very welcome. thnx:computer:
Is this similar to the "teardrop like flowing metal protrusions" you're asking about? These I found on several 2001 dimes. In fact most of the 2001's had this effect. If it isn't I'll just wait for your pics.
2001 canadian dime response Those are exactly the same protrusions i have on mine. Any reason that you know of for these odditie?
Not at all. I posted these pics on another forum and I never got a firm answer. However I have found that almost all the 2001 dimes had the same defect. It was difficult to find a "clean" one. Maybe someone on this forum with knowledge of the minting process can explain how this happened.
I believe these are die trails. When a die strikes a coin the metal of the coin squishes out evenly all around the die. In this process the coin is only touched once by a metal die, but a die strikes thousands of coins. Over time this wears away at the die at weak spots in the design. On your coins it seems to be on the points of the letters and a little inside the "C" of CANADA. Those are intersting trails. On U.S. coins the trails are more faint and more scratch like in appearance. Yours look to be the same height as the letters for part of the distance to the rim. U.S. coins tend to be more frosty in uncirculated where Canadian tend to be more prooflike. Maybe thats a contributing reason to thier raised appearance. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions. Ryan
It sounds logical, however, I wonder why it happens with such intensity on this particular dime design. The other dimes and quarters look to be minted in the same manner but it's very rare to find this kind of defect on previous or subsequent mintages.
q? Is it possibly the fact that these dimes are of steel comp as well. I know that material puts a gr8 deal of were on the dies. Why only on this particular year?
It is quite possible that with time (in that I mean, after striking many Steel planchets into coins) the Dies developed stress fissures at the weakest points! This lettering are definitely the weakest points on the Die since they are near the rim and incuse. Frank
The dies could have been of a defective composition as well, if this is the only year you have seen this and the planchets were steel the year before and after. The dies could have been more brittle or just generally weaker. Steel planchets are VERY hard. There is no doubt in my mind that that could take a toll on a die quicker than any other metal I know coins to be struck on. Ryan
