What does "struck through late stage die cap" mean?

Kaelasdad

I picked up a 1995 1 cent on ebay, it looked rotated and multi-struck, but was referred to as a struck through late stage die cap. PCGS just graded it as an MS65 RD Struck Through late die cap, and I am really not familiar with how the process occurs. I know what a struck through is, I know what a die cap is--but can someone describe what they mean together? The picture is from the auction, I do not yet have the coin in hand from PCGS.

mgoodm3

i presume that the die cap is so thin from multiple strikes that the die imparts most of the image with the secondary image from the remains of the die cap

Kaelasdad

I had not thought that the die cap would be that thin, now it makes more sense, I was thinking that a die cap might have either impressed an image of the reverse or impressed a blank, but maybe thats where late stage comes in and its back to a stronger obverse...maybe.. I still dont know all the specifics.

Conder101

Your getting the idea. When the die first gets "capped" the cap is as think as a coin and the first pieces struck through this cap are brockages. As the die continues to strike more coins the metal of the "cap" spreads up over the body of the die and the cap actually starts to look like a bottle cap or even a thimble. If the die stays capped the metal covering the die face gets pounded thinner and thinner until the designs of the die are again showing through but distorted. In the latest stages the design struck into the coin will look almost normal with just slight distortion because it is in effect being struck through a layer of metal foil.

From what I see on your coin it looks to me like the cap came loose from the obverse die at least three times, rotating slightly each time and then getting stuck to the die again. That is the reason for the multiple faint dates and Liberty etc.

fivecents

That error coin is

Kaelasdad

Thanks Condor--your description of the process was very clear and i appreciate the information. Initially I thought it was a multi-strike, now i know better. Are these common occurances?

I also thought it was a cool error, glad to see PCGS slabbed it and gave it a nice grade. I am actually off to the Post Office to pick it up in its new plastic house.

Russ

carl

I'm glad everyone saw the same thing there. I was wondering if last Fridays drinking had an effect on my eyes. Nice coin. Wish I had that one.

OffMetal

I thought that looked very cool

My $200 bid got blown out quickly!

I thought the seller mis-represented this item as, if I'm correct, "Quadruple Struck"

Nice error, nonetheless!

Rampage

I remember seeing that coin on eBay. Very nice coin to add to your collection.

messydesk

Here's a picture of a 1974 struck through a dropped die cap that I took back in the days of yore...uh...film...well...yore. I think the setup was a 50mm Nikkor lens on a bellows on a Nikon FM body. The coin isn't mine, otherwise I'd see what I could produce with my Canon A80. Note that the extra date and LIBERTY are incuse as a result of the die cap being turned inside-out after it fell out of the die.

Kaelasdad

Nice picture, and you can see the same incuse situation with the 1995, especially ob the date and liberty. Its an odd look, and i must have looked at this coin 30 times already and seeing all the intersting marks--the rotation really sets these coins off.

Conder101

<< <i>Note that the extra date and LIBERTY are incuse as a result of the die cap being turned inside-out after it fell out of the die. >>


No the cap did not flip over or turn inside out. If it had the incuse date would be backwards and on the other side of the coin, not right next to the date.

When the cap drops off and rotates slightly, the field areas of the cap are very thin possibly like foil. But those areas which had been filling the voids in the die are thicker (and work hardened) and on the next strike those slightly thicker areas are impressed INTO the planchet creating the incuse Date, LIBERTY etc.

errormaven

Conder is exactly right. This coin was struck through a detached late-stage die cap that shifted and rotated after coming loose. The loose cap was struck three times previously (each time in a slightly different position) before the final strike that created your coin. These shifted cap strikes appear on ebay with some regularity. Prices range from as high as $300 to as little as $15. They are almost always incorrectly described. Value is related to the clarity of the normally-oriented incuse design elements, the number of extra sets of design elements, and how extensive the design duplication is.

messydesk

<< <i>

<< <i>Note that the extra date and LIBERTY are incuse as a result of the die cap being turned inside-out after it fell out of the die. >>


No the cap did not flip over or turn inside out. If it had the incuse date would be backwards and on the other side of the coin, not right next to the date. >>


Pretty much what I meant, but said poorly. The cap fell off the die onto the coin. The die hit it again, pushing the raised (thick) part through to the coin side of the die cap, effectively turning it inside out.