HK-302 Louisiana Purchase Expo Medal - Weak Strike or Wear?
MedalCollector
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This was a remnant from a group of exonumia that I purchased. Is it a weak strike error, or simply wear? I know what I think about it, but I thought this might be an interesting topic.
On a side note, this looks like the rarer, no-star variety.
On a side note, this looks like the rarer, no-star variety.
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First, the rims point me in that direction.
Second, from personal experience, I've seen these (including the silver version) used as pocket good luck charms and worn down like this.
peacockcoins
Looks like a die adjustment strike to me.
Agree. The wear is to irregular.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
Very cool!
As I used to focus my collecting on error coins, I can say that this medal simply appears to have the look of a genuine weak strike. However I know that isn't enough evidence for the true numismatists. I'll list a couple of the clues that led me to determine that it was a weak strike error.
One of the first things that I noticed was that in some areas, the wording fades out as it nears the denticles. If this were due to wear, we would actually expect the opposite. The portion of the lettering near the denticles should be protected by the rim while the lower portion of the letters would be handled and worn.
It's important to note that not all low pressure strikes will have the effect that this medal does because a strongly upset planchet can actually cause the opposite to occur.
At the top-right of Jefferson's head, there is a distinct boundary. This line represents partial die contact by the planchet. The far-right portion of Jefferson's head was formed by the die. To the left of this boundary, the design remained smooth and non-detailed because it did not come into contact with the surface of the die's recess in this area. A worn coin will not exhibit such a sharp boundary. Rather, it would be rounded or smooth.
Both the obverse and reverse show centralized weakness. During strike, the metal flows toward the recess in the obverse die, but when too little pressure is applied, the deepest recesses in the obverse and reverse die remain unfilled by the planchet's metal. Without much die flow, this cross section of the medal does not contain enough metal to strike up fully.
And as suggested, the edge of the medal is relatively rounded and retains its bevel. Unfortunately I was unable to take a good enough photo of the edge for your judgment.
Looks like a die adjustment strike to me.
Agree. The wear is to irregular.
Agree with two above statements.