@oih82w8 said:
I am pretty sure that the REV Die is the anvil position and the OBV is the hammer. I have been wrong before. Perhaps @dcarr could enlighten us?
Traditionally, the reverse die is the anvil die. However, there are exceptions. The question is whether this is one of the exceptions.
Trivia question: How can you tell after the fact which die was the anvil die?
That's a great question @jonathanb! How can you tell which die was the anvil die after the fact?
A coin press could operate with the dies either way.
Typically, as the last step in the stamping cycle, the lower (anvil) die pushes the struck coin out of the collar.
A careful examination of a coin's edge can reveal which direction the ejection "slide marks" go, and that can infer the orientation of the dies.
Please elaborate. I've noticed some of my nickels and CN cents have drag lines on one half of the edge. I've tried to figure out the orientation if the drag lines are on the bottom half or upper side of the edge. I keep forgetting to ask an expert after making a drawing of what I see. Sorry, no pictures but this characteristic is very common. I've even seen it inside the edge reeds of coins but I don't know what die is on top for each coin series.
Question: If i lay a coin face up that was struck in a press with the obverse die on top, then the drag lines on the edge should be...
mostly near the upper edge.
mostly near the lower edge.
Some coins have drag lined from the top to the bottom edge.
@RLSnapper said:
If I saw it out in the wild I would for sure have thought it was a fake and not bought it. Unbelievable error.
It IS a fake, isn't it? It certainly wasn't made at the US Mint.
What are you talking about? The half dollar/ half dime pair was obviously made at the New Orleans Mint..
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
Comments
Please elaborate. I've noticed some of my nickels and CN cents have drag lines on one half of the edge. I've tried to figure out the orientation if the drag lines are on the bottom half or upper side of the edge. I keep forgetting to ask an expert after making a drawing of what I see. Sorry, no pictures but this characteristic is very common. I've even seen it inside the edge reeds of coins but I don't know what die is on top for each coin series.
Question: If i lay a coin face up that was struck in a press with the obverse die on top, then the drag lines on the edge should be...
Some coins have drag lined from the top to the bottom edge.
It IS a fake, isn't it? It certainly wasn't made at the US Mint.
What are you talking about? The half dollar/ half dime pair was obviously made at the New Orleans Mint..