Question Concerning Presidential Dollars

The mints didn't care. The edge was done at random.

The edge lettering on business strike dollars is added after the coin is struck, which is why it is so random and imperfect.

The proofs, however, had the edge lettering applied during the strike as part of the collar. This is why proofs are all aligned the same way and the lettering is consistent.

The mint wants us to collect each coin in P&D, lettering orientation A&B.



Piggybacking off the thread a bit, I recall that in 2009 the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was moved to the surface of the coin, and the mint remarked that the edge lettering process was "improved" to guarantee that no coins would skip that step... starting in 2009 the edge inscriptions are nearly impossible to read because they are so weak. Does anyone know what changed?

In truth, I am astounded that our mint struggled with these as much as they did. Edge lettering has been around since the late 18th century, and the British pound coins have employed it without a significant number of issues since the early 1980s.

Ha! Joke is on them. Their shenanigans mean that I only collect one proof example since I cannot see the mint mark or edge lettering once the coin in my Dansco.

Actually the edge die is different in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and I'm not talking about just the change in date. They had a problem with slippage on the 2007 coins due to wide blank areas between the mottos and the date. So in 2008 they added a pellet in each of those areas to provide additional "traction". Then in 2009 the motto in God we trust was removed and replaced with 13 stars. As for why the lettering is weak, that is a function of the distance between the edge die in the roller pressing the coin against. Get that distance set too far apart, and you get week lettering. Set it to close in the coin tends to jam and slippage or spacing problems can occur.



That's true, but mintages for those coins were much smaller than for the NA dollars or the Presidential dollars. In both the cases you mention the edge lettering was applied in a separate step as well, but in those cases the lettering was applied before striking. That could be done because the early coins were struck without a collar, and in the case of the British pound, coins were struck in a reeded collar which did not create as much pressure against the edge of the coin, the planchet could expand into the reeds. If you letter the edge first and then strike in a close plain collar the lettering is crushed. That is why our dollar coins are lettered after striking. But that creates a problem as well, because the striking of the coin work hardens the metal in the application the lettering more difficult.