1983 D Lincoln oddity
jesbroken
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When I first saw this thinness of the United States lettering on the reverse of this 1983 D Lincoln, I immediately thought some kind of chemical damage narrowing the letters in "UNITED STATES o" but upon noticing the "F AMERICA" was normal and without a stain separating the two made me curious. I have never seen narrow lettering before like this, yet it seems it would have to be done PMD by some substance, but without a trace as to what. I appreciate your opinions other than PMD as that appears somewhat obvious. Just how and why not all is more my question.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
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Heavily polished die?
Wouldn't that have made the letters wider if anything?
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
This can be seen with a combination of die wear and striking.
If the strike is a little weak the lettering is thinner.
This is common especially on zincolns. Grab a handful of coins
from the 90's and compare the reverse lettering.
I believe the opposite would happen.
I concur.
If you look close the lettering gets thinner the closer to the rims or the farther from the center.
I have nice images of this effect I can try to find. They were taken about 20 years ago and I had a
discussion with Mike Diamond back then about this effect. I can try to get them posted here tomorrow.
? Think it through.
The letters are widest at the base. If you polish the die you wear away the surface that includes the widest part of the letters. As the height (off the surface of the coin) is reduced by die polishing, the part of the letters that is left is the higher and thinner part.
Note how thin and weak the letters in E PLURIBUS UNUM are on this 1937-D 3 legged. That's from the polishing of the die. It's one of the hallmarks of a genuine 3 legger.
Thanks @JBK and @koynekwest. Ron, it is beginning to sink in, although slowly. I believe the fact that the "F AMERICA" not having this effect is what made me wonder. I thought at first about the polishing of the die causing enough wear on part of the coin and not another would cause a taper effect or at least affect the coin on the side of the die polishing. Just not that sharp on Die treatments and characteristics and should be, as I have all the books.
Thanks also @JRocco I look forward to your post tomorrow. This is the first experience in 60 years of having noticed or read of this occurrence. I believe the fact pointed out about the wideness of the bottom of the letters compared to the sharpness of the top makes the most sense.
Again, I thank you all for your replies and help.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Hey jesbroken sorry to get back late to you on this. If I can recall properly what was explained at the time was the die itself began to deteriorate in a way that effected the way it struck the planchet. The die fatigue effected the plane of the die itself. If I recall the term peripheral die expansion and erosion was applied. The overuse of the dies resulted in less pressure near the collar resulting in a thinning of the lettering closest the rim. I was able to find a couple of pics from our discussion of an 87 P Lincoln cent showing this effect. I will see if I can hunt down any more on this and if so I will get back to you.
Thanks JRocco, if you don't mind I will copy these for my file on this effect. It is interesting and not very well known, it appears.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Hope that helped.