Misaligned Die Strike & Off-Set Strike Differences, Another Tutorial!

Difference between a Misaligned Die strike & Off-Set Strike?

Many beginning collectors struggle with the terminology. Seeming similar descriptive terms are confusing at first. To say a misaligned die isn't what it sounds like, some coin was struck off center? Huh? "But the coin wasn't struck in the center?"..."yes it was, but only SLIGHTLY"...and the mental meltdown begins. Let's start at the beginning, okay?

Begin with a bit of basic coin making What puts an image on a coin? A pair of metal cylinders with designs on their ends are pressed together with a previously prepared "planchet" in between. This transfers the designs known as the obverse (heads) and reverse (tails) images into the now-can-be-called "coin". But you knew that part, right? Here's a simplified diagram of a coin press's operating parts.



Now, with this picture in mind, realize this is a mechanical mechanism, many moving parts. Endless pounding causes a continuous vibration, that in turn causes wear on those moving parts, and loosens the devices holding the dies in place. Shake, rattle and roll, this is what the dies are doing.

Think of it this way, it is like the base of a Christmas tree. There are three or four adjustment screws that need to be tightened to have the tree be held upright. Any one of those screws gets loos, the tree tips to one side or another. The Die housings are of course more sophisticated in their mechanisms but the same principle applies, a loose screw means a misalignment. This misalignment usually occurs on the Hammer die, the upper one that is in motion. It can happen on the anvil die, but not as often as the Obverse side die. This is quite important when analyzing MAD's. Here is a formal definition of MADs:



Now, let's take a look at an actual example of a MAD. As in the definition MADs vary, in amount affected and directions. The first picture is the example coin corresponding to the above quote, it is quite distinct. The second is a lot slighter, most commonly found of the MADs.


Notice the horizontal shifting on these. On the first, details near the rim have completely disappeared, a coin like this does demand a major premium among collectors while this second coin is so common, it holds no real premium value. The MAJOR point of MAD identification is that the effect happens on just one side. There is no corresponding movement seen on the reverse it may look completely normal.

There is another related strike error called a "tilted die". Similar in how the die isn't completely horizontal when strike happens but what is going on in the mechanism is different, producing different results. If you are interested in more about "tilted dies" check here:
http://www.maddieclashes.com/vertic...d-die-error/


Now the Off-Set Strike. As I mentioned, it is indeed similar in how it first looks, but this differs in that both sides are effected in a like manner and direction. This is actually caused by a failure of the collar to fully deploy and hold the coin centered in the striking chamber. (See diagram above in green) The planchet is placed off center on the anvil die, when struck, whatever portion is off the dies, has no image impressed. These errors can be a minor offset or very dramatic. Those that command a higher premium will have the date or at least a portion thereof.



The off-center struck coin may at time be referred to as an "out-of-collar strike", but it it only one of a variety of errors that happen when the collar fails to fully deploy. So for clarity's sake, it would be best to describe it by their actual names, such as an "off-set strike" or a "Broad-strike" since both are the failure of the collar to retain the coin correctly.