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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;KurtS, post: 2087867, member: 11786&quot;]Well...if you feel the need to opine at length on the subject, you could <i>start your own thread</i>.&nbsp; You’re sort of barking up the wrong tree on my thread. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Since you raise the point, the manufacturing process was hardly &#039;finalised around 1665&#039;. There are notable details that collectors who study with their magnifying glasses understand. The processes of engraving, die making, and coining is changing to this day; a few changes are detailed below. I’ll note that a lot of these advances allowed coins to be better struck, more detailed, and thereby more aesthetically pleasing to collectors. And with each new process, there are new die varieties associated with it. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><ul> <li>Portraits and other details once engraved by hand, individually into each die were replaced by punches to impart consistent details to each die, and thereby into each coin.</li> <li>Collars added to coining presses now struck coins with a consistent edge/shape. Edge milling/lettering discouraged the practice of shaving down precious-metal coins--a big problem <i>since ancient times</i>.</li> <li>Individual letter, design, and date punches gave way to grouped punches for the legends and dates, which made die making more efficient</li> <li>Hubs were introduced that incorporated all the design elements, replacing the tedious use of individual punches. Hubbing dies became the norm towards the mid/late 1800s.</li> <li>Screw presses were replaced by the mechanized hydraulic press, allowing more coins to be struck and with higher pressure and better detail.</li> <li>Dates once punched (or engraved) individually into the die were replaced by logotype punches consisting of all the digits.</li> <li>Galvanos and reducing lathes replaced cutting a master hub at actual size. This enabled finer details to be imparted to the hubs, the dies, and to the final coin.</li> <li>In the 20th C. dates and mint marks were included on the hub, which eliminated the need to add these to individual dies.</li> </ul><p><br /></p><p>Collectors who study die varieties learn about these processes. It helps me understand why coins of specific eras look as they do. Each time period has an intrinsic beauty due to the hand work or mechanical processes involved.</p><p><br /></p><p>Where one collector may see “mistakes”, others see a charm in coins that were made from dies engraved by hand, such as this 2 Skilling coin from Norway:</p><p><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8222/8255571857_6af4b89c47_b.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>When coin production became more mechanized, these ‘mistakes’ became far scarcer—and to variety collectors, often more valuable. It is partly an interest in the process, such as this 1888/7 overdate, and the scarcity of the variety. Where the “perfect” coin is only worth $20, this one is worth $20,000. That’s another aspect of variety collecting—hunting for hidden treasures. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5492/11898862173_78a46bfb51_b.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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