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

YQQ · June 10, 2015 2:29AM

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 · June 10, 2015 2:35AM

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 · June 10, 2015 2:41AM

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

BryceM · June 10, 2015 2:41AM

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 · June 10, 2015 2:42AM

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

Walkerguy21D · June 10, 2015 2:45AM

<< <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 · June 10, 2015 2:52AM

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

cmerlo1 · June 10, 2015 2:55AM

Unfinished love token.

FredWeinberg · June 10, 2015 3:23AM

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

asheland · June 10, 2015 5:49AM

<< <i>Unfinished love token. >>

ricko · June 11, 2015 12:48AM

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

Cheers, RickO

asheland · June 11, 2015 12:49AM

YQQ · June 11, 2015 12:51AM

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 · June 11, 2015 1:10AM

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 · June 11, 2015 3:45AM

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 · June 11, 2015 7:37AM

filed down.

JJSingleton · June 11, 2015 7:45AM

<< <i>Unfinished love token. >>

+1

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

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