I have studied Wexler's Coin and Die Varieties and other sites in an effort to learn the difference between worthless and rare doubling. I still haven't got it but I want everyone to know I'm trying.
Split serifs are produced when the die maker is putting the mint mark to the die and repositions the punch to create doubling (one mintmark over the other, pre-1990 for the most part). Sometimes this results in displacement of material that produces a split on one or both of the serifs (on letters that have them, such as the D for Denver). Different fonts used in different mintmark designs determines if there will be a serif or not. In the mintmark above, you have an upper and lower serif, but no splitting (double image where distinct serifs can be seen adjacent to each other). Not possible to produce it via the repositioned punch either since the mintmark is part of the design now. When the font does not have serifs, the separation in the overlap is generally referred to as notching. I've seen it presented that for RPMs, the term 'split serif' can be used to describe the overlapping gaps. For Doubled Dies, the term to use is 'notching'. Since the term is more associated with the anatomy of a character and not a method for producing the split, doubled image relative to the type/font of a character, I'm not sure that it's all that important. For me, split on fonts that have serifs is a split serif. Splits on fonts that don't have them result in notching. I'm not fussy about using the 'right ' term relative to RPM or DDO, but some folks will be...like Cent and Penny used interchangeably. All in the eye of the beholder I suppose.
This is what your looking for, here's some real doubling on the shield cent . I also own about 60 0f these .
@Donnis E Wilder ...try illuminating with a low power pen light from a different angle...glare can mimic split letters...jmho ...Spark
The more you look at you will become more familiar with the different types of doubling. Keep reading and studying. Even seasoned collectors of varieties sometimes have to ask for an opinion. And, if you are fortunate, one drops in your lap that is so obvious. Found this one a couple of months back when I bought a bag of 300 assorted cents from the seventies for 2 Euros. Thought for sure they had been gone through already, but I guess this one was missed. 1971 DDO-001 Stage B
Thank you, your information is very helpful. I will continue my studies. It's kind and giving of you to take the time to help me learn.
That's not fair, I've only had two posts and the first was a dime. By my math that's 50% of my posts not pennies. Thank you for the encouragement.
But DDO's on shield cents are possible. Or was this in reference to this coin only because it has MD?
