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Message:: [QUOTE="physics-fan3.14, post: 4405948, member: 19165"]The original die contained a D, correct? Over time, the die wore down to the point where the D was no longer visible. That, by definition, is a die state. Is it collectable? Well, judging by the premiums for no-D coins, absolutely yes. But would I consider it a variety? Absolutely not. This is the same die, which over the course of striking coins and the treatment of the die, the die changed. Remember, I consider a "variety" to be anything involved in the creation of the die. Once that die has struck a coin, anything after that is a die state (stage). The die has been created. It is what it is. The life of the die now plays out. Some dies live famous lives from the beginning (1955/55 Lincoln), some dies don't reach greatness until they are near death (1922 D Lincoln). Either way, a variety is created while manufacturing a die. The problem lies in the fact that some people don't adhere to the technical definition. They know that varieties are popular and will sell for more. They will market coins and who cares what the right term is? Many marketers don't know what the right term is, and frankly don't care - they'll call it whatever the heck they think will get the most money. What matters is what will get the most people interested and get people to spend money on their thing! Sure, you'll see hundreds of offers for rare "varieties." You'll see ads in influential magazines for "varieties." It's been ingrained in many people's heads based on decades of marketing that these are varieties. They aren't. They're wrong. And that's just numismatic fact.[/QUOTE]

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