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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;RonSanderson, post: 2627981, member: 77413&quot;]With all due respect to Socrates (apologies if he was a personal friend) the canvas has marked the highest contours of the Morgans where it was draped over them. On this coin the reverse was true - the fields are marked but the stars are pristine.</p><p><br /></p><p>Let me weave a story about this being the last of its series ever struck.</p><p><br /></p><p>Late in 1805 the run of Draped Bust half dimes was coming to an end. Not many were called for, and 15,600 had been minted using one die pair. Those dies would never be needed again.</p><p><br /></p><p>Late in the afternoon on a hot September day, the work order came through to destroy the dies and end the series. To make sure the images were obliterated, the workers put a file on the bottom die and ran the press down. (If you account for the rotation of the reverse you can see the damage lines up on both sides, as though the file was held covering half the die at a 45 degree angle.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Many parts of the engraving were smashed with the impression of the file, and the force used was enough to deform the metal enough to press the bust cavity onto the file as well.</p><p><br /></p><p>To make sure the dies were indeed unusable, one last planchet was placed in the press. The dies were brought together. After inspecting the result, the dies were sent for melting. The worker picked up the scrap planchet / coin and took it home to show his family.</p><p><br /></p><p>Remember, only one die pair is known for 1805 and there are no other coins that look like this. These dies are too damaged to be used again.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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