1807 CBH Liberty notches

oldUScoins

Hi All: I have a 1807 CBH and was wondering how the notches (tiny lines) inside the LIBERTY were formed? The tool they used?

Insider2

I always thought they were file marks on a raised part of the die; however, they look like someone took great pains to make them uniform.

Baley

Concentric lathe lines from die preparation, before the portrait was impressed.

Walkerguy21D

I like Baley's explanation.

As a side note, that is a GORGEOUS 1807!

astrorat

PMD

astrorat

I wish I had my 'Bust Half Fever' book with me. There may be a mention of how those lines originated in the book.

Edited for spelling ...

lkeigwin

Funny, @astrorat...I thought so too but couldn't find any mention. I think Overton cited them but offered no explanation.

The ribbed lines are complete (across all letters) in most 1807 DM's and appear pretty much just in the letter L of LIBERTY in 1808 DM's. By 1809 they're gone.

FWIW they also appear in the reverse scroll in some but not all 1807 DM's.
Lance.

sparky64

Very cool and I'm also fascinated with the centering dots too.

jmlanzaf

@Baley said:
Concentric lathe lines from die preparation, before the portrait was impressed.

Can't be. The lines aren't centered relative to the coin center, are they?

Insider2

@Baley said:
Concentric lathe lines from die preparation, before the portrait was impressed.

While definitely something done to the die. DEFINITELY NOT CONCENTRIC to the center of that die. Besides, those are some very, very, very large "lathe lines." Perhaps the mint used a three-penny nail to make the transfer.

Until proven to be wrong, I still believe they were done on purpose and not something that "just happened" during die preparation.

ricko

Also interesting is - how did they disappear? Wear or polishing? Cheers, RickO

CaptHenway

Let me begin by saying that I know nothing about these horizontal lines. The following is sheer speculation.

On the national shield used from the Heraldic Eagle coinage through the Barber quarter and half, the horizontal lines represent the color blue and the vertical lines red stripes. The unlined areas between the red areas are white stripes. This is basic Heraldry.

Perhaps, and this is a total WAG, Reich was trying to shade LIBERTY and EPU blue.

TD

Insider2

@ricko said:
Also interesting is - how did they disappear? Wear or polishing? Cheers, RickO

Perhaps they were not put on the dies where they are not present.

@CaptHenway said: "Perhaps, and this is a total WAG, Reich was trying to shade LIBERTY and EPU blue."

I agree that these "lines" were put on the die on purpose.

LanLord

@jmlanzaf said:

@Baley said:
Concentric lathe lines from die preparation, before the portrait was impressed.

Can't be. The lines aren't centered relative to the coin center, are they?

That's kinda what I thought too.
They look to me to be centered somewhere around the inside point of star 2, but it might just be my eye coming to the wrong conclusion.