Double Question

trolytic

What's the difference between a strike and die? Are the dates strikes? What would the 1968 lincoln or the Jefferson Nickel be (if either or) considered ?

DaveG

A planchet is a blank metal disc that the dies (upper and lower) strike in the coin press. Once the dies have struck the planchet, it is a coin.

Coins can be weakly struck or strongly struck (depending on how well the dies are aligned); sometimes, coins are "struck-through" foreign matter (grease, metal, cloth, etc.) that gets between the dies and the planchet.

It looks a bit like your nickel has some grease build up in some of the letters of MONTICELLO and FIVE CENTS.

DieClash

Proceeding logically then it is easy to understand that First Strike coins are those coins that are first packaged and shipped by the U.S. mint, having nothing to do with the first coins to be struck by any given die pair and thus commanding a huge premium over subsequently packaged and shipped coins whether or not they may have been the first few coins struck from a new die pair.

cladking

There are many components of strike and most are related to die condition or alignment.

Not only do dies wear out as they strike more coins but they also don't all start with the
same amount of detail. Until recently they were hubbed multiple times to bring up the re-
lief. This is a process of heating the die and then forcing the design from a hub into the
resoftened steel. This process would be done until all the design from the hub was impress-
ed, but even these hubs would vary from one another or from year to year.

The die faces don't alway come together center to center either. One or both might be
tilted a little. Dies wear differently from one to another because they aren't perfectly al-
igned and can vary in hardness across the face. Operating conditions from one press to
another will not be the same. A loose press will vibrate and might cause mechanical doub-
ling on the coins being produced. Even these will vary though and the vibrations can be
harmonic or chaotic meaning some doubling will be repeatable.

In the higher ranges of unc and with some poorly struck series these strike characteristics
are important aspects of grade.

RichieURich

to the Forums, Trolytic!

Gemineye