Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;deefree, post: 2703672, member: 85263&quot;]Regarding Did the mint use of retired proof dies for business strikes? - or - Were coins that didn&#039;t pass inspection as proofs put into circulation?:</p><p><br /></p><p>Albrecht stated in his 1983 article in The Numismatist;</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Occasionally, business strikes can be mistaken for Matte Proof pieces, but, as far as our records show, the diagnostics discussed in this article have appeared only on Proof coins.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>He also stated later in the article:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;...some die polish might be from the master die. If this is the case, similar die polish might appear on business strike also.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>So the verdict on this seems to be weighted towards &quot;No&quot; in both counts. There is no certain evidence that proof dies were used on business strikes or that proof strikes that did not pass inspection were then put into general circulation. Until something further is shown, I think we should assume the proof production did not overlap with coins earmarked for general circulation.</p><p><br /></p><p>With regard to the period placement on the V.D.B. initials on the 1909 matte proof, Robec is absolutely correct. If the period after D is not centered between the D and B (that is, close to the D) that coin can be eliminated outright as a proof candidate.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some business strikes have a centered dot. How many is something I don&#039;t know but it is a substantial percentage. So, you can use the dot placement as a weeding out strategy but it is a minor piece of evidence when authenticating a VDB proof. It is really only a starting place. An actual proof would also need to have the proper rims and all the die lines in place to authenticate.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have found business strikes that can mislead can have any number of the following characteristics and if you are looking for proofs you need to be careful about these:</p><p><br /></p><p>1) An early die state business strike can have proof-like details</p><p>2) A matte proof like surface can be misleading and by itself does not mean a coin is a genuine proof</p><p>3) Die lines that are on the master die and appear on proofs and business strikes. One reoccurring case involves the lines from the M in UNUM on the reverse. The proof also has a line from the middle of the M while the business strike has them only from the outer lines of the M. There is also a vertical line from the L in Liberty than appears on some proofs and business strikes. There can be a line through the O in One on proofs and business strikes.</p><p><br /></p><p>In conclusion, when authenticating any proof, you have to be certain of ALL the characteristics. In a case where one thing might be missing or weak, I think you should have an expert on matte proofs help you. You wouldn&#039;t want to give up on a coin that might still be authentic just because one aspect is uncertain. Later die states of genuine proofs can have weak or missing diagnostics, so keep that in mind.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in