Just for fun, I decided to shoot this small coin from British India for absolute details. It's smaller than a US dime, but the detail is pretty spectacular. You can see a large retained die break on the obverse, another corresponding break on the reverse. This coin shows little circulation, but a lot of die wear! It's a good example of how long these dies were used to mint--to the point of failure. I suspect the retained obverse break has sunk slightly into the die, explaining the weak "KING" in the legends and a corresponding weak leaf on the reverse. click if you want to see how detailed this picture gets.
Man, I collect British India coins, and this piece is just amazing! So much character on it with all the die cracks and weak strikes. And that is a very detailed picture of the coin Kurt.
Yes...I think that's a clash/clashes with the space underneath Edward's chin--which would be a highpoint (field) on the die. This overlay should help spot other clash marks...
Just found a 1908 quater anna die clash in my collection. I noticed the clash before but didn't know what it was until Kurt posted his.
Dumb question time: what exactly is a die clash? I can see a kind of curve under the 1 in 1908 (that is really a very detailed picture!). And to me, the crack at the top looks like a planchet error. Why do you think it is a die error?
From About.com: Definition: A die clash error happens when the coin dies come together in the coining press without a planchet between them. This causes an imprint of each die to be left on the opposing die face. For example, an impression of the obverse die is left on the reverse die, and vice versa. Although the Mint usually makes an effort to clean up these marks, they are sometimes visible on the coins themselves. Also Known As: clashed die error Examples: The Washington Dollar clashed die error was often called the "Extra Spike" type because the clash marks left what looked like an extra spike on Liberty's crown.
