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 Replies: 38 / Views: 3,381 |
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Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
I have little knowledge of this subject, but the first thing that comes to my mind is damage sustained to the master die from the transfer of the plaster mold to the die. The master die is cut with a lathe type tool that tracks a plaster mold while it is rotating. If there was a problem in the transfer I can see it cuting a perfect circle in the master die. Which would then be transferred to the "working dies" as a ring like we see. However this would only hold true if the rings are oriented with the exact center of the coin. It's just a hunch but I can't think of any other way.
Edited by wbarkley
02/11/2016 02:32 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2739 Posts |
This is also the year we have the two 2004-D "extra leaf" Wisconsin quarters and the 2004-D "extra ear" dime. Coincidence?
Error coin writer and researcher.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1915 Posts |
Mike are you suggesting aliens visited the US Mint in 2004?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
526 Posts |
To complicate matters a bit more, here is a circle on the obverse of a 1988(P) Lincoln Cent.  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4809 Posts |
On one of the cent pictures posted by Mike, it kind of looks like a rotational error of some kind; maybe just double up though (I really like the appearance of that second 2004 cent). But CM's nickels and mine have the appearance of a single event and rotation to me is undetectable. And while central to the coin, I'm not sure it's dead center on the die. I'd have to do some inspection to be sure.
If I didn't know better, it looks like an ejector pin mark left on molded plastic parts. Even then, I'd expect some difference in depth between the field and the inner part of the circle. It appears that this isn't the case on the nickel.
Mike - through your channels, is there anyone you can access that might be able to shed light on this anomaly? Certainly not a mission critical exercise by any stretch, but maybe something worth knowing?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4809 Posts |
No complication BJ - just more food for thought.
I wonder how the dies are stored, especially after annealing for rehubbing. Could this be transfer of some kind?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2739 Posts |
You can try contacting Michael White or Tom Jurkowsky at the U.S. Mint. The number is 202-354-7222.
Error coin writer and researcher.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1915 Posts |
Dang it you guys. Now I HAVE TO HAVE one of these things.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
62064 Posts |
2010 cent:   |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5029 Posts |
Well this is certainly an interesting thread. I am looking forward to hearing a cause.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2739 Posts |
Coop's specimen displays a spiral, rather than a set of concentric circles. Very interesting.
Error coin writer and researcher.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
62064 Posts |
Here is a dime with an alteration on the ear:  Raised so it was a die issue. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2739 Posts |
That's the 2004-D "double ear" dime. It's a curved die dent.
Error coin writer and researcher.
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Pillar of the Community
967 Posts |
I have 17 of these in front me. I have noticed them and drug some out of circulation and placed them in a tube. I just looked under a microscope at all seventeen. Fourteen of them appear as the OP's photos. Just a raised circle. Some of them are actually 2 very thin circles with a little spacing that appears to be raised in the middle. Three of them did not. I think that the fourteen are later die states. The three are earlier die states or maybe they are just different die pairs. These three actually have remnants of additional lathe lines that are faintly visible extending outward from the visible circle. I think that all are lathe lines.  Edited by still lookin
02/11/2016 4:31 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10047 Posts |
@BlueSolo Oops - I misspelled McGoohan. The series is in Youtube - it has quite a history (and following) ... and at least as mysterious at times as these circles. I really would like one of those where President Lincoln looks like he is in No. 2's chair. I will have to start looking for these circles now on all coins I encounter. I know so very little about the die making process - I wonder if these is a limit to how long ago these coin circles were showing up (possibly July of '47?  ) Seriously it would be interesting to see if these can be found corresponding to changes in the way dies were/are made (or not?). |
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Replies: 38 / Views: 3,381 |
First Page
Posted 02/11/2016 07:53 am
