What's Going on Under the 7 of This 1927-S Dime?
Shurke
Posts: 451 ✭✭✭✭
A couple years back I came across an eBay listing where the seller claimed to have an unrecorded overdate on a 1927-S merc. Of course I know that a number of random eBay sellers spout nothing but nonsense. But in this case, the pics were intriguing enough that I started googling around. While I didn't find the slightest mention of a possible variety for this issue, I did find a coin in Coinfacts that was clearly struck with the same die.
I decided to keep my eyes open and see if I could pick up an example of this variety that I could examine myself. Eventually I found a raw one, and confirmed that there is indeed something going on with the date. I just got it back yesterday from PCGS with Trueview. (Before I post the image, I feel the need to note that this is a particularly horrid Trueview--the dime is far more attractive).
Here's my dime, followed by a detail of the date.
There's some circulation crud that obscures some of the finer detail, so here's another closeup of the date on this variety, this time from a lovely 58+ example on coinfacts (cert# 20908234, if anyone's interested).
And for comparison, here's the date on a standard 27-S dime. (I pulled this one from cert# 25621116).
Finally, for ease of viewing, I thought I'd post all three 7s together, with the standard 7 on the left followed by the two variety 7s.
I just wanted to get more eyes on this and see what everyone thinks. Thanks!
Comments
Hard to say... there sure appears to be something on the lower part of the '7'. But I hesitate to say it is an overdate, or even a RPM. I'm thinking more along the lines of die deterioration, and perhaps a resulting die break cud? Nice pictures by the way.
I’m also not ready to make any wild claims about an overdate. But something’s going on there. In hand, the point protruding from the lower part of the 7 is clearly visible and is at the very least a conveniently placed die gouge.
@Shurke... Excellent pictures. The first example made me think of a 7/3, but that is not logical... no doubt something is there and I am thinking a reworked 7...Cheers, RickO
Looks like they repunched the 7 with a slightly different die to me.
Wayne
www.waynedriskillminiatures.com
Interesting! Excellent images.
I wanted to say it appears to be over another 7 rotated ??12deg?? CW, but the more I look, that doesn't look right either. Something definitely going on.
Need to get @Fairlaneman and @DRUNNER in here
Subscribing to the thread. Next visit to the box I'll check mine closer. It's a P63 I've had for ... wow ... 20 years next month according to my notes.
I have older images that don't look she will be a match, but I'll check anyway.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
I am totally unfamiliar with this. I cannot think of any way that this is an overdate (let's face it, the only plausible overdate would be a 7/6), but I do not know what caused those obvious marks on the die.
It kind of looks like a curved tool hit the center of the 7, leaving the bulge outside the right side of the 7 but then continuing through the upright of the 7 and leaving a small knob on the left side of the 7 down low. Think of the modern dies with curved indents in them, like the Wisconsin so-called extra leaf quarters and the Roosevelt dime with a curved tool mark near the ear. There are also a few Lincoln Memorial cents with a tiny circle around Lincoln on the reverse.
So, I think it is worth more study. Anybody have an earlier die state?
TD
Repunched/retooled 7?
It almost looks a #2 which has been "removed" or reworked under the #7 you can see the curve on the right side and a very small curve on the left almost like a point at the bottom it. someone just had it in the wrong position when striking the working die?
I thought it looked most like a 2 as well, though that makes no sense whatsoever.
There’s some bold die clash on the AU 58+. On mine the clash has been mostly polished away. I saw an earlier, pre-clash example on eBay maybe a year ago, but it was way out of my budget, and I hadn’t yet had the bright idea to start a picture file on my computer (smacking myself in the forehead now).