1943 steel missing 4

Actually the dies do have a thin film of oil on them, The tool steel rusts easily so it has a protective il film. The planchets are also oiled to help keep them from sticking or biding the the feeding tubes. Well oil tends to collect dust and dirt and it eventually builds up and can become clumps of "grease".

It wasn't so much a theory about why the 4 disappears on the steel cent as it was an observation that different issues tend to develop grease fills in specific places. Examples are the 4 on steel cents, the E in STATE of DE quarters, the letters arter oa on the CT quarter, the mintmark on NH quarters, the last E in INDEPENDENCE on the Bicentennial half dollar.

 

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