1879 dime with possible die break unlisted variety?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by david clark, Aug 11, 2021.

  1. david clark

    david clark Member

    Note the extra area of metal between the 8 in the date and bottom of rock. What explains this? note the small blacked area on the lower circle of the 8 is a Nick not a rpd or anything good. So what do you think about this little item guys?
     

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  3. Steven Shaw

    Steven Shaw Well-Known Member

    Damage
     
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  4. david clark

    david clark Member

    it doesnt look like damage, to me, the metal is raised and smooth.... I dont mean to disagree, it probably is damage, Im just mystified how it could happen and look so natural..... could you hazard a guess at an explanation? I cant get a better pic w my camera unfortunately. my best, dc
     
  5. SensibleSal66

    SensibleSal66 U.S Casual Collector / Error Collector

    I see a Nick on the 8 (tiny).I also see Between the 8 and bottom of rock but the only thing that could be is a die chip and I'm not sure that's it either . :confused:
     
  6. david clark

    david clark Member

    hmmmm. "a die chip". thats interesting, sort of what Im thinking since its raised metal, and smooth rounded sort of little mound of metal.
     
  7. yakpoo

    yakpoo Member

    Not so long ago, I had a similar discussion with @Fred Weinberg , the foremost authority of error coins. Someone had posted a 1960 LMC with a smooth line through the "0". It looked the "0" in a Norwegian "Ore" coin.

    Anyway, the answer was PMD...but no one could offer a plausible explanation of how it happened. The consensus was that a straight hit, just across the "0", raised some metal that had since smoothed over to appear like a raised part of the device. After thinking about it, I accepted it.

    I accepted it because I learn some things from that discussion. I learned that unintentional die anomalies usually affect more than just one coin and nearly every U.S. die anomaly has been identified and cataloged. The odds of encountering an unidentified U.S. coin die anomaly, on a coin over 100 years old, are minuscule. I also learned that there's some pretty bizarre PMD out there that defies explanation.

    The recurring theme was..."I don't know what caused it, but I know it's PMD". There were just 14,000 business strikes minted of the 1879 Dime and there's nothing listed in Cherry Pickers Guide...after all these years. I hope this helps. Beautiful coin, btw. It would be nice to see the reverse. :)

    Edit: Notice how the damage goes past the field and into the rock device? Die gouges usually don't do that since the devices are incused into the die.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2021
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  8. david clark

    david clark Member



    thats interesting... yes I agree it is mathematically improbable on such a small mintage as this coin has, that there would be a fairly large "die anomally" , visible to the naked eye, that hasnt been recorded as of today. I will post a photo of the reverse, and I would wager you will be surprised!
     
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