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Message:: [QUOTE="Marshall, post: 7789633, member: 21705"]Die sinking or subsidence on Early cents is neither common or uncommon. It is often associated with the wearing of the die and often is reason for the dies early retirement leaving the variety on the rarer side. The high surface often wears quickly leaving the impression of a lower grade specimen. One which comes to mind is the 1793 NC-6 where the die sinks behind the hair in the left field leaving a high surface. I'm particularly familiar with this variety because of my discovery of the third known specimen. Strangely enough has the oldest provenance and was misattributed as an S-16 by several well known copper specialists. A close examination of all three known show all had this sinking to some extent. I started watching Forged in Fire and gained an appreciation for the difficulties at the early mint to make dies which are hardened enough to hold up to repeated coining without becoming brittle during the quench. So my theory is that sinking/subsidence results from a softer die and breaks come from a harder (more brittle) die. Since the war nickel was a softer material than nickel and die steal was a war material, it would make sense that they might attempt to use a softer die hoping for a longer life for each die.[/QUOTE]