Ok there is two things going on with this coin, first on the obverse there are three thick lines starting behind her ear and moving in a straight line toward her cap, can anybody explain what that is? Second on the reverse the word UNITED has a trail leading to the rim. any help with this coin is appreciated
Lines behind the ear might be a die clash, probably from the lines on the shield on the reverse. The lines between the "united" and the rim I have always thought were flow lines?
Yep - die clash and die erosion. Only glanced through my book, but did not see a die clash mentioned on any specific variety. Both these characteristics are common on the bust halves.
Well - not per se, but sometimes it helps attribute the coin to a rarer variety. Then the rarer variety might drive up the value. Clashing is common - I was just looking at coinzip.com 1818 bust halves and noticed this kind of clashing on several of the coins posted.
