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Message:: [QUOTE="900fine, post: 975195, member: 6036"]The die was concave. The inward "bowl" was in the ONE CENT region. As the die contacted the flan, the die edges touched the flan first and delivered the greatest striking pressure; those details were better struck up. At that moment, in the "bowl" concave area, there was a slight gap 'twixt the die and the flan - an air space. As the press continued to exert pressure, the "bowl" concave area barely touched the flan at all, and delivered weak striking pressure. Those details were weak at birth. These sort of insights are critically important when dealing with early American copper; we must know what we're looking at so we know what to expect and what fits our needs. For the basic type collector, this lack of detail might be a deal-breaker. For an advanced EAC man, this particular die state (stage of use / breakdown) might be collectible in its own right; in fact, it often brings a premium ! Some guys collect 1794 1c S-41 by die state (Breen lists nine different die states). Die states are actually more educational than die varieties IMO.[/QUOTE]