1880-O Morgan Latest Pick

Yeah, missing a 3 dave but not a buffed up reverse

Granted this is in a SEGS holder but still a beautiful example of an 1880 O micro o!

I have always viewed and called this type of variety a collapsed die. I believe this effect is caused by improper annealing after the dies are hardened and polished. Dies get work hardened when they are hammered, and to prevent them from breaking or shattering while striking coins the dies are annealed to give the dies a little give from the pressure.

My thoughts are that some areas inside the die as softer and the harder outer shell stretches giving the outward appearance of proof like qualities in the fields as the inside collapse or gives why under the stress of striking.

Just my theory, but the premises in metallurgical fact in die making is sound. Hardness is measured in and by a Rockwell Press, with a probe that looks like a rounded ball point pen. When pressed into an object, a gauge indicates the hardness. The key fact is that if the metal flow of a die is not running in one direction or has an "eddy" in the metal, their can be a wide spread of hardness between one side of a die and the other.

BTW a Rockwell probe is the most likely reason we see what are called "DOT's" in some Morgan dollars. If during the testing the dies where found to be to soft the probe will press farther into the die, leaving a depression in the die.