I saw the term "1955/5 shift cent" written somewhere but can't remember where. Would this be considered a 55/5 shift cent? Thanks for the help!
Mark: That is what is referred to as a 'poor man's double die'. But, in plain English: It isn't a double die, just die erosion. They were popular in the sixties, and still sell well on eBay. No real added value except for eBay.
1955 "shift cent" is an obsolete term once used to describe the 1955 DDO cent. It was common back int he 1950's and early 60 because most people did not understand how the coin was created. Some thought that the doubled image was caused by the die or mold "shifting" while it was being made (Yes some people thought coins were made by a molding in process. Few collectors really knew much about the minting process.). Others thought it was caused by a double striking with the die shifting between strikes. In either case there was a "shift" and the coins came to be called 1955 shift cents. If you read general coin books written in the 40's through 60's you will find a lot of strange things in them, especially in relation to error coins. One of my all time favorites is "suction marks" where the explanation was that the intense vacuum created as the dies pulled apart from the coin actually "Sucked" the designs from one side of the coin through to the other side. In 1929 Biestle, in his book on half dollar varieties, called them ackcidefects. Today, we call them clashmarks. Dies do not suck!
Thanks!! Thanks for the info !! I truly enjoy the education I get in this forum. I'll get this (and the other one I found) into 2x2's and mark them "poor mans DDO"
