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 Replies: 16 / Views: 313 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1785 Posts |
Die deterioration/die erosion?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3231 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19682 Posts |
Rather fantastic example. Those dies were well beyond their ideal state.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1344 Posts |
Great reference link Tunnioc.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1841 Posts |
My first thought was soft spots (improper hardening) but that would also affect the design elements. It is bizarre for sure. Perhaps some kind of subsidence?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7390 Posts |
Odd for sure, looks like a storm rolling in on Monticello.
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Moderator
 United States
109890 Posts |
very strange looking, I never seen this before.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1896 Posts |
 "End of day" polishing job? Yup - that's good enough - let's go get a beer!  Neat find  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6964 Posts |
My guess is that this is the result of a die clash. The smooth areas are right where the clash lines would fall—to either side of the dome and the bottom half of the reverse. The engraver probably just sanded out the die clash and called it good. Also, those areas of orange peel are where PIDT warped the die surface. It's probably harder to remove the orange peel on a warped surface using a flat tool.
Or, let's be pragmatic, whoever "fixed" that die just did a substandard job.
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Moderator
United States
197941 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
16008 Posts |
Fantastic find Brand.
Would be nice to know how it came to be.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3644 Posts |
I've never seen anything like this. Nice pickup!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5913 Posts |
How about Recurring die subsidence error? Error-Ref.com Definition: "Definition: Die subsidence (sunken die) errors are usually one-off events. In other words, the error will only affect one die. When die subsidence errors affect several dies, it's usually the periphery of the die face. This makes sense as differences in hardness would be expected to develop during flawed heat treatment (annealing, tempering, quenching). These processes cool or heat up a die from the outside in, and circular or semicircular zones of weakness can develop in the case of heat-treatment that is too rapid, too slow, or that is interrupted in some fashion.... ...Why only the reverse die is affected, and why the abnormally soft patch of steel is restricted to this area, is a profound mystery. These defects are often mistaken for clash marks. Another group of repetitive die subsidence errors is found among 1988-P nickels. At least two obverse dies are affected. The top of Jefferson's head develops a smooth swelling." https://www.error-ref.com/recurring...dence-error/Words of encouragement are one of the major food groups.
We need to consume them regularly to thrive and grow.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6964 Posts |
A sunken die is also a possibility. If the die face were experiencing a failure, it's certainly reasonable that the large void of Monticello could draw the metal towards it. There is also a thin berm forming above Jefferson's head on the obverse. I would make one note. Usually in situations of extreme DDD on 1980s nickels, the lettering looks like melting marshmallow. The obverse lettering has that look. However, the reverse lettering is still thin and proportioned like a relatively fresh die. That's a bit unusual. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3231 Posts |
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Replies: 16 / Views: 313 |
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First Page
Posted 10/21/2026 8:32 pm
