Posted 03/10/2023 1:17 pm
Thanks for the response. From your comment I conclude that you think the denticles are added when a master die is created. That makes sense.
My only point of reference is from analyzing the Barber quarters. There are three reverse types - Rev1 introduced in 1892, Rev2 was quickly implemented later in 1892 supposedly to resolve an issue with the coins not stacking properly (wingtips and star positions changed), Rev3 in 1900 (wingtips lengthened). The denticle count changed with each of these reverse types. For the obverse, there are also 3 types (I discovered that there are 3, not 2) - Obv1 introduced in 1892, Obv2 in 1900 involved inner ear detail, Obv3 later in 1900 removed a crossbar in the W and the two Ts in Trust changed. For the obverse, the denticle count changed with Obv2, but remained the same for Obv3.
Whatever happened with that last bit, Barber could have decided to leave the denticle count alone (whether consciously or randomly). You can't add metal to a hub or a die, you can only remove it, so I try to decipher whether a change happened on a hub or a die based on whether a changed feature is raised or incuse on the coin, etc.
I "think" that the rim is lathed into a master die and then the denticles engraved (or punched somehow?) into the lip of that, but I'm not sure. The alternative is that the rim is raised on the hub extra wide, and then the denticles as they appear on a coin are created by removing the gaps. I'm trying to figure this out because the Cuban 1915 "No Periods" star peso variety was designated by NGC, but the thinking now is that these were contemporary counterfeits. I've observed that there are two types of them that seem to be only minor repunching and polishing off tiny features, and yet the two types have different denticle counts.
To answer your date question, according to Wexler the full date was not in a master die until 1909 cents. The first two date digits starting being on the galvano and master hub in 1907. I think the methods for punching the dates (whether gang punch or individual numbers) varied across denominations and years. I know for example that the 1905 dimes show at least 5 different date positions, so the date was still being punched into working dies during that era.
My only point of reference is from analyzing the Barber quarters. There are three reverse types - Rev1 introduced in 1892, Rev2 was quickly implemented later in 1892 supposedly to resolve an issue with the coins not stacking properly (wingtips and star positions changed), Rev3 in 1900 (wingtips lengthened). The denticle count changed with each of these reverse types. For the obverse, there are also 3 types (I discovered that there are 3, not 2) - Obv1 introduced in 1892, Obv2 in 1900 involved inner ear detail, Obv3 later in 1900 removed a crossbar in the W and the two Ts in Trust changed. For the obverse, the denticle count changed with Obv2, but remained the same for Obv3.
Whatever happened with that last bit, Barber could have decided to leave the denticle count alone (whether consciously or randomly). You can't add metal to a hub or a die, you can only remove it, so I try to decipher whether a change happened on a hub or a die based on whether a changed feature is raised or incuse on the coin, etc.
I "think" that the rim is lathed into a master die and then the denticles engraved (or punched somehow?) into the lip of that, but I'm not sure. The alternative is that the rim is raised on the hub extra wide, and then the denticles as they appear on a coin are created by removing the gaps. I'm trying to figure this out because the Cuban 1915 "No Periods" star peso variety was designated by NGC, but the thinking now is that these were contemporary counterfeits. I've observed that there are two types of them that seem to be only minor repunching and polishing off tiny features, and yet the two types have different denticle counts.
To answer your date question, according to Wexler the full date was not in a master die until 1909 cents. The first two date digits starting being on the galvano and master hub in 1907. I think the methods for punching the dates (whether gang punch or individual numbers) varied across denominations and years. I know for example that the 1905 dimes show at least 5 different date positions, so the date was still being punched into working dies during that era.
