this dime was also part of the collection.....BUT..???

YQQ

1his 1837 dime was part of the collection I purchased.
The big question is this:
has the rev been struck or is the rev blank from day 1.
M O is that it has never been struck because there would be at least some ever so minor traces visible.
on this one there is absolutely Nothing visible.
perhaps someone here has more knowledge than I have.
any help is much appreciated.
thank you

DIMEMAN

I have never seen anything like that. With as much detail as there is on the obverse.....there should be something on the reverse.

Looks like the reverse was shaved off to do a love token...then they changed their mind and left it.

Who knows???

Walkerguy21D

I suspect shaved off also....perhaps weighing it may give a clue, though you'd also have to factor in heavy wear.

BryceM

Sometimes this will happen where one side wears more than the other. PMD is also a possibility. It's very unlikely that it was only struck on one side, as that's contrary to the usual striking process.

This slightly older dime shows a similar (but not identical) appearance:



On this one, if you look carefully under the right light you can actually make out quite a bit of the original reverse detail. Try it on yours and see if there's any trace of it.

Jinx86

There are a few letters you can make out in the center.

Walkerguy21D

<< <i>It's very unlikely that it was only struck on one side, as that's contrary to the usual striking process. >>


I'd guess the only way it could happen was if two planchets were in the die at the same time.....meaning another coin somewhere would have no obverse detail.
But I still suspect it was shaved or ground down.

291fifth

It may have once been part of a magician's prop. It was probably shaved down to fit inside a small cent.

cmerlo1

Unfinished love token.

FredWeinberg

It's been machined on the reverse - not an error coin

asheland

<< <i>Unfinished love token. >>

ricko

I agree with the unfinished love token idea..... likely she broke it off and married someone else, so he spent it. Cheers, RickO

asheland

YQQ

Fred, and all others, thank you for you comments and opinions.

if the coin has been machined would there not be some kind of mechanical traces?
and, would the scratches not have been machined off also?
and the coin would have been in some kind of a vise type grip to hold it for the machining to be done.
would that not leave some traces?
also, if machined, why is the rim still there, however, metalflow is evident from the rim toward the center all around. i. e. the groove right at the rim is rounded or filled.
Fred, why would you suggest the machining ?
the coin is very old....
if it was done mechanically, I believe it was done at a very early stage in its life.
will try UV light on it to see if that makes anything visible.
Not trying to look for arguments here. But rather for a viable answer.
it is easy to say: ground down, machined, filed etc.... having a solid explanation for a reason is something else.
Please fellow do not take this as a criticism as it is only human to react when something is not easy to answer. I usually say : it is a basement job... just because it looks like it IMO.
all Love tokens I have seen ( am not looking for them) have a completely flat side with NO rim.
this coin still has a rim.

CaptHenway

Could just be excessive wear on the reverse. A weak rim could let everything else wear away because it was not protected. The halves of this era often had weak reverse rims.

TomB

It was absolutely not struck uniface. It has either worn asymmetrically to yield what is an apparently blank reverse or has been planed either by hand or mechanically for (most likely) use in jewelry.

winky

filed down.

JJSingleton

<< <i>Unfinished love token. >>

+1