Buffalo nickel die lines

Blackhawk

I've got an MS 1936 Buffalo nickel that has very noticable die lines extending across the top and bottom of the digits of the date - to me they appear to be lines that were scratched into the die so the date could be positioned properly. There are also a couple of looping die scratches at the bottom on the date. Anyone ever see this before?

CaptHenway

Yes, it is common on some late dates, apparerntly descended from the master die.

Shamika

Wow! I was just about to post a thread about this. I noticed this on a 1936-D that I failed to win on Sunday. It's clear that guidelines were placed on the die in order to line up the date. As the Captain mentioned, this seems to be common on later date Buffalo nickels.

crazyhounddog

Interesting, it's even on the proof strikes!!

Shamika

Here's a better image from a 1936-D. Note the lines above and below the date.