Die Chips and Die Cracks Question
Allentram
Posts: 114 ✭✭✭
Hi all, just looking to expand my numismatic vocabulary. Is there a collective term used to describe minor die issues such as die chips, die cracks and grease filled dies, similar to how error coins describe a wide variety of different errors? Hope this question makes sense. Thanks.
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I collect mostly Capped Bust Half Dollars, and am a self admitted "crack addict" ... not even wanting to recover.
I call them "hot messes".
Sorry, couldn't help myself!
“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
They are errors (grease) and varieties (die chips), just not usually desirable ones.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
There certainly is something to be said for a "perfect" coin, especially older ones. But those chips, cracks, cuds, etc., add character, and serve to distinguish dies used to make the coins. Some of us collect those kinds of things...
Collector of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, including die pairs and die states
I sent Allen a PM and he responded, liking a more serious take I had offered.
It appears he was looking for a term that maybe non-coin people could also understand enough ... something for when coins had features like he prescribed in his OP, but they didn't garner much (if any) extra value, and were just "interesting" because of those features.
One of the terms I use is calling such items "die anomalies". I use it in passing conversation, although typically I state what the issues are when talking to other numismatists: Cracks, CUD's, retained CUD's, chips, clashes, filled dies, tooling marks, etc. I tend to leave those extra descriptors out with non-coin people, as in many cases they wouldn't understand and/or it would be too much to explain unless they had real interest.
If anyone has something they use for this type of situation, I would like to hear it too.
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Also, just for the record, I still find it entertaining by saying Miss Liberty is a "hot mess" when referring to a coin that has all kinds of things going on (maybe cracks, clashes and a die chip or two)!
But that probably doesn't register, even for a fair amount of numismatists.
“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 more genteel and call them "easter eggs". I think of them as hidden treasures that give allready interesting coins more intrigue. James
I can't but think of a song " no, no no rehab ahhh never kind, long story