Go this in change from the hardware store close to home. A lot of it is damage I know post mint. I'm wondering about the missing U in Pluribus. In some angles, I almost think i see a shadow of the U, in red and green light. There us some kind if groove next to it in the column. The flaw in the column, is it mint made? But cause it seems that there are the lines if the column seen even in the flaw, scratch, whatever it is. Opinions plz folk?
Your right, I do need to finish that up. I am asking for opinions on the coin though. I'm figuring extra greese? Or, its just a dime and they're notorious for shifting or what the term was, I don't remember. Every time I get educated on what is how it or why it, I'm a little more schooled than yesterday. I'm describing what I see as my garbage camera on my cheap phone I buy because I break so many so easily, cannot pick up what my eye with a loupe can see. If these questions from a novice coin enthusiasts is offending or annoying, please just ignore my threads I post. But, if you have some knowledge about why the U is missing really in its entirety (as I said, I sometimes think I see the ghost of the U, but I'm more sure I see an S, which don't fit), please leave another comment.
The incused letter U on the Die had some debris in it. After many strikes it becomes compacted so therefore the letter would not be minted properly on the Blank Planchet when it is struck.
This is a common error on dimes of this era especially 1968 to 1971. Grease and debris tended to accumulate inside of the latters of E Pluribus Unum on the reverse (especially rib us u). I actually have a small collection of the various missing letters by date.
I have another dime, 75 I think, where all 3 letter there are faded and blurred. I wondered if that might be the case. Think its cool though .I'm so completely surprised by my interest in coins,
Coins are pretty neat and can grab people of just about any age. My little collection of missing letters on dimes is mostly just specimens that have the letter completely or almost completely missing. While they still make dimes with filled letters in this are my experience is that after 1972 or '73 the letter is still very readable. There are also late stage die strikes where the dies are extremely worn and and the letters are partially filled. It wasn't unusual to overuse dies before 1999 and it still happens a little bit. I like to look at coins in circulation and imagine where they've been and come to look the way they do. There are lots of strange coins with strange histories.
It isn't extra grease. It is the build-up of grease and debris that becomes compacted with each successive strike. In the early stages of these partially-filled letters and/or numbers on the die, they appear to be weakly struck. Chris
