Problem w. Indian gold coins

Why is either the lettering or date on indian head 2.5 and 5 dollar gold coins always cut off ... it seems like they made the engraved dies too big for the diameter of the coin.

I have yet to see one of these beautiful old gold coins with all of the design intact.

Was the US Mint really this asleep at the switch for 20 years on this design?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

it's so bizarre ... after all they did a great job getting the liberty design inside the rim



why did they screw up the indian head design so bad ....they just needed to shrink the indian design down by about 10% or so

 

Here's another one ... half of the word liberty fell outside the coin edge ... and the stars are cut off on both sides ... it's clear the engraved die was too big for the coin diameter ... so odd nobody at the U.S. Mint thought to fix this year after year.

 

take a look at the 1926 i posted above ... the bottom of the date is right on the edge of the coin (no margin at all) ...and the LIBERTY at the top is half cut off .... if they moved the die down a bit to get all of the word LIBERTY on the coin ... then the date would be cut off ..

now look at the stars on the LHS and RHS .... both edges are cut off

I just dont see how moving the die around would fix this ... the design looks too big for the coin size

There should be a little bit of margin around the entire edge of the coin design

In publishing they call it "white space" ... this coin definately needs more white space ... and the only way to achieve that is to shrink the design down

 

on your 1908 ... the bottom two stars are cut off ... and the bottom on the 9 and the 8 (and even the bottom of the 1) is cut off ... everything doesnt fit ... (and you have one of the better examples)

i still say these indian head gold coins should have been designed with more (clear) margin around the edge

 

Here's another example to compare. Raw not slabbed. I think all devices fit fine.

 

that is the best example i've seen

however if you look at a lot of coins this series many more are cut off

 

Yes, and like Doug said, those with devices appearing cut off from misalignment are common. You just have to look for more centered examples if that's what you prefer.

 

Well, we have to remember that the Liberty Head Gold Pieces did not have incuse designs, like the Indian Head design. The Liberty Head design needed a rim to protect the design within, but since the Indian Head design was incuse, they probably figured they didn't need one.

 

A friend of Pres. TRs, Dr. William Bigelow, is thought to have suggested the incuse design, which piqued the curiosity of TR who instructed Pratt to submit models of the incuse design idea for the $2.50 and $5 coins. Unfortunately, the incuse designs were easily susceptible to wear.

 

...And then everybody went crazy because they were worried about germs getting transferred from person to person through the coins' surfaces.

 

Actually it wasn't because of "the coins' surfaces" but rather a fear that the recesses of the incuse design was a breeding ground for germs and hence the coins were thought to be unhygienic.

 

And they had good reasons to be worried ( whether true or not), as the top 5 cause of death of 1907 were
1. pneumonia ( bacterial and viral)
2. tuberculosis ( bacterial from air/surface contact and also in raw milk )
3. heart disease
4. Diarrhea, enteritis, intestinal infections. ( bacterial and viral)
5. Intracranial lesions from the blood ( bacterial, viral, and some fungal and amoeba)

In 2005 for example:

1. Heart disease ( a few from bacterial or viral causes, but not high)
2. Cancer
3. Cerebravascular origin ( strokes,etc)
4. COPD ( congestive pulmonary obstructive disease ( primarily smoking effects)( few from b,v,etc.)
5. Accidents.

So most of the infectious diseases are controlled today by vaccines or medication that were main
causes of death in the days of the incluse coins. Gold does not have the oligodynamic action of restricting bacterial growth that copper and silver has.

Jim

 

"Gold does not have the oligodynamic action of restricting bacterial growth that copper and silver has."

But really how long do bacteria tend to live on such surfaces outside a host?

 

Certain bacteria such as anthrax ( still common in animals then), botulism, tetanus, produce spores which can last for 100s of years. Viruses are not really "alive", and can be crystallized and remain in the chemical form for unknown length of time and then reactivate in the lab or organism. Viruses from the flu of 1918 could have re-emerged if induced in unprotected humans, but in a way it doesn't matter as the genome is on the internet so if you have a DNA/RNA nucleotide synthesizer, you can recreate it.

Many normal bacteria "hunkers down and slows metabolism", so they can be infective for days or weeks on door knobs, hand rails, shopping carts, etc. But the good news is not all can. Most die as they dry out. If someone blows their nose into their hand, and hands you a coin,good luck

jim

 

Now I'm scared that long-gone diseases can be reintroduced!

 

"If someone blows their nose into their hand, and hands you a coin,good luck"

Well now, that's just rude and insensitive behavior and might get someone socked in said nose for doing something like that in front of another party. LOL! In this scenario it really wouldn't matter whether the coin had incuse design elements or not as the fear was in part attributed to.