Weak vs. Soft Strike Question??

ajia

What would you consider the difference between a weak strike & a coin that has a 'soft' area?

Is the term 'weak' used in conjunction with an overall appearance, while a 'soft' strike or area only purtains to an area of the coin?

Can a Morgan have weak breastfeathers on the rev., or weak hair above the ear on the obv. & still have what is considered a strong strike?

airplanenut

I think the terms are synonymous. A weak strike happens when the metal doesn't flow all the way into the die--usually, the weak spots are not just where the relief is highest, but also where on the opposite side, there is high relief, meaning the strike must be very strong for both sides to be full.

That said, coins with weak strikes are weak "in order." Basically, you'll have areas that are first to go, then second, and so on. So for an area that is not commonly weak (soft) to be weak, everything that is more commonly weak will, too, be weak.

Jeremy

cladking

Usually when someone calls something a weak strike it is referring to coins struck
by dies under too little pressure (spacing between dies too great). Usually nothing
will be well struck but it's possible for various portions of the design to recieve a fair
strike. Low design details can fill up first and be fairly crisp.

The term can be used to describe other problems with strike such as worn dies (no
well struck areas) or dies which struck the coin when the surfaces weren't parallel
(one side of coin may be well struck), or even to describe poorly hubbed dies (any part
of coin may be well struck).

The term is probably best used for low pressure strikes.

anablep

Some of the later Morgans (1900-1904) have what appear to be weak strikes, but the dies were changed in that the eagle's breast appear mushy due to a slight design change, not necessarily a weak strike. I wonder if this has happened in any other series...

ajia

Specifically, I was referring to the area above the ear.

I mentioned to the seller of a Morgan that it looked like the coin had a weak strike because of the lack of detail in the hair above the ear.
I was told it was not a weak strike but that rather the coin was soft in that area!??