I was just wondering about this. Many series of coin will end partially through the transitional year. Bust dimes - seated dimes, 1837...... Barber - mercs, 1916 ..... Ihc - wheat cent, 1909 while some are cut off when a year is done: reverse transition from wheat to memorial cent..... Technically v-nicks and buffalos fit here.... Flying eagle to ihc.... Merc to Roosevelt dimes.... Why is it that some series end and transition to the next year while in many cases one year is shared between two designs?
I guess it depends on how quickly the new dies are ready for service. Production for the 1921 Peace Dollar didn't begin until December 28, 1921 and allowed just three days of striking for that year. Chris
The reason they didn't just hold of and wait until 1922 to start the Peacedollar was because the new coin was intended to commemorate the end of WWI and they wanted to begin striking in the same year the war ended. But delays kept the signing of the Peace Treaty that officially ended the war until mid-November 1921. The designing and approval of the Peace dollar was GREATLY rushed. Then the hubs had to be redone at the last minute and the final dies were not ready unto Dec 28th. they had just a few days to strike the coins and still be able to have them done in the same year as the Peace.
So, as a general rule the is no default preference for our against any particular series to have a ' clean' transition vs a ' crowded' transition where two designs share a year? It is really just luck of the draw whether the does are ready or not? I realize certain designs like the peace dollar and Kennedy half were rushed through.... But the Kennedy half was a clean transition despite being rushed.... Is the readiness of the dies basically the only deciding factor for non commemorative, non memorializing (read, designs with a rushed deadline) issues?
Rushed because they wanted to make it a clean transition and not have two coin designs the same year. If he had been shot in say Feb then we might have gotten Franklin and Kennedy halves with the same date.
I agree with timing, though it's strange it happens so frequntly and ends up with artifacts like the 1913 V nickel or 1856 Flying Eagle Cent (and the 1909S IHC is a pain to get). They also seem to change the devices or lettering, like with the cents vs. no cents V nickels and VDB on the Lincolns. You can actually find proofs of pattern coinage and they can be quite expensive in most cases since they are so rare. They were always very picky about what got out there, though in the recent years they seem to have gotten lackadaisical about what they print, aside from maybe fewer error coins slipping their way out of the mint (possibly because of that guy who got busted).
