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Message:: [QUOTE="GDJMSP, post: 1490782, member: 112"]That is a common misconception. The coins that have the best, highest quality luster, are those struck with the freshest, newest dies. There is a caveat however, that is assuming the coins have an equal quality of strike. And that all other things are equal. Example - a coin that is weakly struck, even though it was struck with fresh dies, can have less or a lower quality of luster than a coin that is well struck with worn dies.  No, it doesn't. It can however produce that illusion. It is not the same by any means, but orange peel can increase reflectivity kind of like polishing a coin increases reflectivity. When all other things are equal a worn die can never produce the same quality of luster as a fresh set of dies.  That is true. But not for the reasons you mentioned above. As Tom B said, there is one and only one thing that produces luster - the flowing of the metal. And in order for the luster to be of the highest quality there must be uniformity in the flow lines. And you get the best and most consistent uniformity of the flow lines from fresh dies. Worn dies will interrupt that uniformity and thus reduce the quality of the luster.[/QUOTE]