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A defective 18th century U.S. coin die ...
BillJones
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Earlier this week I purchased a 1798 silver dollar, which is die variety Bolender 17 or BB-101. This variety is scarce to rare because the obverse die failed soon after it went into service. The deterioration of this die is obvious when one looks at the coin shortly at various angles.
First here is the obverse of the coin.
When one looks at the coin at an angle you will see that there is a bulge in the right field in back of Ms. Liberty's head. Since a raised part on the coin reflects a indentation on the die, this is an example of the die being pushed in or sinking. This is not a good sign if you are a coin press operator.
Secondly that is a large die crack that is developing along the first seven stars. This crack may have been the result of the bulge. As a result the denticles along that side of the coin are incomplete. If this die were to be left in service the entire rim of the die may have given way which would result in a cud. I don't know if this happened to this die because I'm not aware of a cud die state for this die.
For those who are unfamiliar with what a cud looks like, here is one on a 1796 dime, located to the right of the date.
My objective here is was provide an example of the problems that plagued the first U.S. mint in its early days. The steel was that was used in this die was probably defective which cause its early failure. After spending hours to make the die it failed aften perhaps only a few thousand or so impressions.
First here is the obverse of the coin.
When one looks at the coin at an angle you will see that there is a bulge in the right field in back of Ms. Liberty's head. Since a raised part on the coin reflects a indentation on the die, this is an example of the die being pushed in or sinking. This is not a good sign if you are a coin press operator.
Secondly that is a large die crack that is developing along the first seven stars. This crack may have been the result of the bulge. As a result the denticles along that side of the coin are incomplete. If this die were to be left in service the entire rim of the die may have given way which would result in a cud. I don't know if this happened to this die because I'm not aware of a cud die state for this die.
For those who are unfamiliar with what a cud looks like, here is one on a 1796 dime, located to the right of the date.
My objective here is was provide an example of the problems that plagued the first U.S. mint in its early days. The steel was that was used in this die was probably defective which cause its early failure. After spending hours to make the die it failed aften perhaps only a few thousand or so impressions.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
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