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Message:: [QUOTE="900fine, post: 785516, member: 6036"]It depends. Strictly speaking, they are neither. They indicate a die state. However, in some cases they are considered a variety. As mentioned above, some die breaks are so dramatic they become a Red Book "variety". The 1804 1/2c "Spiked Chin" comes to mind. It depends. In general, they have little or no effect on a coin's value.  Keep in mind that anything people collect can bear a premium if demand exceeds supply. Since many early American collectors have made a science of die states, those die states are collectible. They are even cataloged. For instance, the Die States of early date Large Cents are listed in Breen's "Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents 1793-1814". Check out major auction catalogs of  early date Large Cents and you'll find the description includes not just date and variety, but also die state ! Some die states are rare and in some cases command a premium. For instance, check out this 1804 large cent : <a href="http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=460&Lot_No=2270" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=460&Lot_No=2270" rel="nofollow">http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=460&Lot_No=2270</a> Note the big cud over "RTY" on the obverse. Also note the auctioneer's description of "Die State III" and the commentary "The middle die state is the scarcest of the three major, collectible die states of 1804 large cents." We did a recent thread on 1804 large cents on this forum; check it out and see how it fits into this thread.[/QUOTE]

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