1943 Steelie Question (Pic. Added)

Date was hubbed into coins and mint mark added at the different mint locations until 1990 when they started adding the mint mark to the hubs. The 1943 would fall into the date with a hub and the mint mark added to the die category. So if you have doubling on both, they usually are machine doubled. The steel to steel contact with the dies and the planchets made the dies faster and made a few different distortions to the dies. (Missing numbers/die clashes more frequently) also the reprocessing of the zinc on this years coins also enhances what really isn't there on most coins. So it depends on your next question which way the discussion will go.

Coop mis-spoke and a small correction.
The date was hubbed into the die not the coins, and then he mintmarks were added by hand to each die individually. The last of the hand mintmarking of dies was in 1989. In 1990 all of the mintmarks were hubbed into the dies as well. Also all the hand punched mintmarks were added to the dies while they were in Philadelphia before they were shipped out, not at the individual mints. There are a few cases of a mintmark being added at the branch mint but they are the result of a die without a mintmark being sent by mistake and in most cases there is correspondance between the branch mint either asking if the die can be used without the mintmark, or informing Philadelphia that they cut a mintmark into the die. And there are other cases of correspondance stating they have received dies with no mintmark and that they are being returned, please send replacements with mintmarks.

The 1943 dies suffered a lot of wear/debris/grease/clashes. Seeing the 4 missing is common on some of the coins. It is not a premium for them, more of a distraction as they would lower the grade than increase it. "Overall eye appeal" would be missing from the grade and lower it.

Condor: Good catch on my error in saying coins instead of dies. Brain went one way the fingers another.

Hi,

It is really simpler than it seems.

Grease filled the recesses of the die obliterating the 4 and the S. It is very common for this to happen and the order in which the date and mintmark was added to the die isn't relevant in this case.

The date was indeed added first and the S was added at Philadelphia for the San Francisco Mint. (edited to change a "brain mishap".

It is not a weak punch of the date coincidental to a weak punch of the mintmark. It is just that both details were filled on the die. Grease or debris can effect one letter, one numeral, or any number of details at the same time.

I hope this helps.

Bill

The date was added to the DIE first, and then the S was added to the DIE (and at Philadelphia not San Francisco) Then the die was shipped to San Francisco where a blob of grease got on it filling in the recessed 4 and the recessed S in the die. Since those recesses were filled with grease the metal from the planchet was not able to fill then. Therefor the 4 and the S are weak or missing on the coin.

This is not too unusual though, It seems every coin series has some spot that frequently fills with grease like that. On the 1943 cents it tends to be the 4. On the New Hampshire State Quarter it is the mintmark. On the DE State Quarter it was the E in STATE. On the Bicentennial half dollar it was the last E in INDEPENDENCE.