The impossible made simply.
cladking
Posts: 28,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
There are several questions which have come up recently which were never adequately addressed.
Some of these questions are:
-Why do so many modern nickels seem to be mark free or well struck? Why are so few both?
-Why are some dates of the moderns common in high grade while others are rare?
-Why does it appear there may not be undergrades (just missed grades) of some coins?
-Why do high grades which seem statistically impossible sometimes appear relatively common?
There is much evidence that the answer to these and other difficult questions may
be just about the same- - human nature. A high grade coin can only occur when each
person at each stage of the job is doing things correctly. A careless operator who in-
stalls the dies improperly will strike nothing but low quality coins. A die maker who uses
poor tehniques can ruin many dies. Handlers and machine operators can overlook or
cause damage to coins. At each step there are numerous ways that low quality can be in-
troduced into the process. There are some individuals who will try to do their job as well
as possible and will successfully contribute to the production of high grade pieces. This may
be a worker who will select one cart of blanks over another because they look better. Or
someone who takes the time to service a press and correct problems which might not directly
interfere with it's operation. When all these come together the statistically impossible hap-
pens and there will be a run of gems produced.
Sometimes it doesn't occur for one year for one denomination because key personnel are
on vacation at the wrong time or an important worker is reassigned to another job. Other
times there is more effort or a more robust system and many gems are made.
Some of these questions are:
-Why do so many modern nickels seem to be mark free or well struck? Why are so few both?
-Why are some dates of the moderns common in high grade while others are rare?
-Why does it appear there may not be undergrades (just missed grades) of some coins?
-Why do high grades which seem statistically impossible sometimes appear relatively common?
There is much evidence that the answer to these and other difficult questions may
be just about the same- - human nature. A high grade coin can only occur when each
person at each stage of the job is doing things correctly. A careless operator who in-
stalls the dies improperly will strike nothing but low quality coins. A die maker who uses
poor tehniques can ruin many dies. Handlers and machine operators can overlook or
cause damage to coins. At each step there are numerous ways that low quality can be in-
troduced into the process. There are some individuals who will try to do their job as well
as possible and will successfully contribute to the production of high grade pieces. This may
be a worker who will select one cart of blanks over another because they look better. Or
someone who takes the time to service a press and correct problems which might not directly
interfere with it's operation. When all these come together the statistically impossible hap-
pens and there will be a run of gems produced.
Sometimes it doesn't occur for one year for one denomination because key personnel are
on vacation at the wrong time or an important worker is reassigned to another job. Other
times there is more effort or a more robust system and many gems are made.
Tempus fugit.
0
Comments
peacockcoins
Brian.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
<< <i>I'll make it short and sweet. I agree 100%. >>
Wheres DorkKarl? He'll disagree!
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
<< <i>I've been wondering if the new mint procedure of shipping coins in huge bags of 100,000 to 500,000 coins will affect the quality of the coins. It will no longer be possible to buy mint bags of coins and every new coin will be dumped in a hopper as it gets fed into wrapping machines. >>
I've been wondering the same thing. When filling one of these huge new jumbo bags the
first coins in have a long way to fall and then when they're emptied from the bottom the
coins in the middle near the top have a lot of shuffling to do to make it out. It seems likely
that gem coins from "circulation" could get just that much harder to find.
these have been heavily marked. With such low mintages it is surprising
they'd be so much worse than mint set coins. Opinions?