A unique Civil War token with a unique look. Introducing... the "crotch comet!"

DCW

1863 Money Make the Mare Go/ John Quinn, Grocer. NY F-630BG-5e White Metal. PCGS MS63, R10 (unique)

I recently was able to track down this very rare issue. This is the only example known in white metal and was most likely a "one off" numismatic strike after the die failed. And it failed in a big way, leaving a bulge in the center of the obverse die!
The comet shaped anomaly could not have better placement for an overactive mind like mine. Washington quarters have the "Superbird." Nickels have the "Speared Bison." Morgans have "Scarface."
Well, say hello to my little friend... "Crotch Comet."
This popular stock die from William Bridgens was used extensively throughout the New York merchants during the Civil War. Its pictorial of a man in a three corner hat, slinging a sack full of coins over his shoulder while they were pouring out a hole in the bottom was endearing.
While I've studied the die progression from its early die state to the cuds which formed on the banner, I never saw the beginning of this catastrophic damage until now.
It occurred to me that we may be looking at the last token struck from this iconic die.
Thanks for looking!

ricko

Well that is different.... even seems to be some 'coins' falling through the comet tail....Cheers, RickO

coinsarefun

Well, you made my day. Not only unique but fantastically great to see!
Like @ricko said. Some coins in the afterburner....lol
What a great piece!

CWT1863

That is amazing! I have not seen one before. Definitely one of the most interesting CWTs I have seen. Like @coinsarefun said, you made my day. Great name for it too, Crotch Comet. Thanks for sharing!

kaz

Hilarious! I have no idea how you find this stuff . Looks like Paul Revere riding a cruise missile.

CaptHenway

Just off hand, it looks like a planchet bubble that somebody pushed in.

Zoins

This is a great looking piece @DCW ! Very impressive strike and error. You do find really awesome Civil War tokens!

It would be be interesting to hear more about how this was created, whether it was due to die failure vs. planchet failures. I'm trying to imagine what kind of die failure would cause this, say improper annealing?

@CaptHenway Can you provide more info on planchet bubbles? Perhaps @FredWeinberg, @ErrorsOnCoins or @dcarr can also provide some thoughts on how this piece was created?

Also of note, I'm kind of surprised by how much spacing / padding there is for this image. I wonder if @PCGSPhoto can comment on whether we're going to be generally seeing larger padding on TrueViews going forward?

Broadstruck

Yes this occurred from a planchet mixture impurity which left an air pocket.

Nevertheless with that thing and the sack of money he must have been quite popular with the tavern wenches.

Namvet69

Is that a present in your pants or are you just glad to see me?, so said Mae West. Peace Roy

CaptHenway

@Zoins said:
This is a great looking piece @DCW ! Very impressive strike and error. You do find really awesome Civil War tokens!

It would be be interesting to hear more about how this was created, whether it was due to die failure vs. planchet failures. I'm trying to imagine what kind of die failure would cause this, say improper annealing?

@CaptHenway Can you provide more info on planchet bubbles? Perhaps @FredWeinberg, @ErrorsOnCoins or @dcarr can also provide some thoughts on how this piece was created?

Also of note, I'm kind of surprised by how much spacing / padding there is for this image. I wonder if @PCGSPhoto can comment on whether we're going to be generally seeing larger padding on TrueViews going forward?

If when you cast an ingot of metal there is an air bubble trapped in it, and the ingot is rolled out, the air bubble can get stretched out too. If the air bubble is near one side of the ingot, it ends up near one side of the coin/token/whatever. Heat the piece and the surfaces softens and the air trapped inside expands and pushes out.

DCW

@CaptHenway @FredWeinberg
If this was indeed a bubble, wouldn't it show signs of breakage where it was pushed in? Im not dismissing the suggestion of it being a planchet flaw, because that seems plausible. But if you look on the reverse, you can kind of make out the general shape of the anomaly under the "OCE" of GROCER. Would this not act like a cud, where evidence of the cud can be found on the reverse of the coin?
Curious piece, whatever it is.

CaptHenway

I see a post-mint damage scrape under the OCE of GROCER, not any weakness that would be evidence of the weakness seen opposite a void in a die (the phenomonen laughingly called "The Henway Effect" in another thread.)

Oldhoopster

Agree, no Henway Effect

Hemispherical

@DCW

I like the progression of your write-up on the die state for the token to it’s possible demise.

Timbuk3

Very "cool", I like it !!!

DCW

Thanks for all the comments!
Here is the whole set for those of you that reached out. They may become available again once I get my website up and running.
Copper PCGS MS65BN

Brass PCGS MS65

Copper-Nickel PCGS MS66

White Metal PCGS MS63

Brass Double Struck 10% O/C PCGS MS64