Posted 02/02/2017 11:46 am
What are you looking at? I'm going to take a guess and see if I hit it. The area next to the rim where the tops of the motto devices are called flow lines that from from the devices. This leaves the tops of the devices looking strange. That is called die wear. If you can imagine how a die works, the metal of the planchet is pushed by the die into the shape the dies want. This done for hundreds of thousands of time, causes friction and the metal movement created die flow lines on the fields, it also wears the tops of the devices also. When you compare them as the dies age you see a lot is going on with the die. The dies that were fresh and new wear out and are later retired. Here is an example of Memorial reverses:
Note the different dies states the dies go through. This metal movement the top edges of the dies. Rounding what was almost squared edge devices to rounding them over. Then the shapes start to alter and when the die flow lines appear the dies are in the LDS die state. But they keep getting used more and more. (sometimes a millon++ coin will be struck by cent dies) The dies go from looking fresh to looking wrinkled.
When they are fresh, they look great:
After a few hundred thousands of strikes:
Hope I answered your question. If not, ask another one.
, wow coop, did it again, SUPERB definitions and examples. Just love your sharing of knowledge, "teach...!". Sometimes just check these posts just to learn your insights. Thank you sir! I look forward to many more years of these!
