Hey there. I recently found this penny which has me confused. Initially I thought it was a misaligned die error because the obverse is slightly southwest of where it should be. But I turned it over and noticed that the reverse is off center a bit too. This then seems like it would be a off center strike, however it is off center in a different direction than expected. The obverse is southwest, so turning it over means the reverse should appear pushed northwest. Instead the reverse appears pushed northeast. In addition the reverse shows a rotation of approximately 13° clockwise. The mirror images were taken from the side with the penny vertical to the surface. The popsicle stick in the final pic is aligned with the very bottom of the Memorial. I feel like I’m imagining things or missing something simple, which would be a bit embarrassing. Any help would be great! P.S. Sorry in advance about the photos. I’m doing my best! I can take more photos if you think it’ll help, but the quality is limited unfortunately.
I was under the impression that the reverse die was stagnant in the minting process, and so would be centered, while the obverse alone would be off. Is that not correct? I have three or four like that.
Yes both sides can be misaligned and they can be misaligned in the same direction but more likely in different directions. Also since the anvil side sits inside the collar it can never be misaligned by much. The hammer side can be much further off.