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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Publius2, post: 4028569, member: 105571&quot;]This reply is off-topic for the thread so I apologize in advance but I wanted to respond to the question.</p><p><br /></p><p>Goldfinger1969:&nbsp; &nbsp; The importance of die cracks and clashes is somewhat less important with IHCs since die technology was much better by the time that series came out than it was in the 18th and early 19th centuries.&nbsp; For those earlier issues, the die issues are used to determine the emission sequence of the coins and sometimes which engraver worked on the dies.&nbsp; For example, for some coins the development of a die crack can place the coin in the early, middle or late stage of the die&#039;s life.&nbsp; For collectors who collect by die state, and there are many, these characteristics are all important.&nbsp; Secondly, these characteristics along with other design elements are often used to help determine which obverse or reverse die was used to strike a coin, in other words to determine the &quot;die marriage&quot; for the coin.&nbsp; For Capped Bust half dollars, minted from 1807-36, there are hundreds of die marriages, each with their own Overton number.&nbsp; Similar systems exist for half dimes, dimes, quarters and dollars as well as the early minor coinage and the gold issues.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Clash marks occur when the dies are struck against each other without a planchet in between.&nbsp; This leaves impressions of the obverse die upon the reverse die and impressions of the reverse die upon the obverse die.&nbsp; When coins are struck from these damaged dies, not only is the correct impression made, but also impressions of the wrong die, almost exclusively showing up in the fields.&nbsp; The clash marks can range from faint to dramatic.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>These are not mint errors as that term is usually understood.&nbsp; The coins are struck exactly as intended from the working dies.&nbsp; And they are most certainly not considered coin damage of any type any more than adjustment marks are considered damage.&nbsp; The diagnostics are used to help recreate history and to identify another interesting means of collecting.&nbsp; For example, in a single year of half dollar production there may be a dozen or more die marriages with rarity ratings from the most common R-1 all the way to the rarest R-7 or 8 for which only few or even 1 coin is known.&nbsp; These unique characteristics of our early coinage add interest and charm.&nbsp; If you have not yet been exposed to this interesting aspect of our hobby, you may find rich rewards there. </p><p><br /></p><p>Some links to some of the clubs that focus on these matters:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.busthalfnutclub.org/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.busthalfnutclub.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.busthalfnutclub.org/</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.jrcs.org/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.jrcs.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.jrcs.org/</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://eacs.org/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://eacs.org/" rel="nofollow">https://eacs.org/</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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