Medal Of Merit / Republican Presidential Task Force Medal Shattered Die

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,124
bobby131313 Forum Dad United States 24156 Posts	Posted 06/28/2023 2:22 pm Courtesy of Ken Potter - This is the actual coining die that was used to strike the Medal Of Merit / Republican Presidential Task Force medal that was delivered to honorees during the Bush Sr. administration in the early 1990's. The "Republican Presidential Task Force" was founded by President Ronald Reagan during his administration and continues today. The medals struck from this die can occasionally be found on ebay. Images Courtesy of Ken Potter This die is unique in that after shattering it still survives well over a decade after-the-fact! This is a BIG die that struck medals that were 2" in diameter! The medals were struck in bronze and then gold plated and delivered in a velvet case. You can see the bronze that adhered to the sandblasted areas of the die (the White House and lettering). All sandblasted dies that strike bronze pick up this coloration in the devises and it makes the die look even more interesting as it give it color contrast, though it is a pain for the mints to strike. This die came into my possession from an old-world engraver that cuts dies for me. One day he was describing how he was cleaning up his work area that contained many old dies that were damaged or otherwise unusable. I laughed, joking that he had "messed up" so many dies that they cluttered his space. He then told me they were not "his" screw ups -- but dies that had been damaged during use that had been sent to him by various Mints, either to see if they could be repaired or as a sample of what they wanted cut for a new replacement die. I'm glad I got some decent scans before selling it. I guess you all know this is a Shattered Die! Shop CCF Members on eBay. Report this Post to the Staff

HondoB Bedrock of the Community United States 25186 Posts	Posted 06/28/2023 2:55 pm Wow, bobby - definitely a catastrophic failure! Thank you for sharing. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 188404 Posts	Posted 06/28/2023 4:44 pm Very interesting! Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
publius Pillar of the Community United States 807 Posts	Posted 06/28/2023 6:25 pm I've only ever had one die made, in 2008, and it's within arm's reach at this very moment. I've been thinking about having another "private issue" struck, but it seems that there is no one uniform method of die-setting, so I wouldn't necessarily be able to go to a die-sinker, have dies made, and then shop around for the best deal on having pieces struck from those dies. Same applies to re-using my existing die (although what I'm thinking about doing now would be a different size and motif, so would require all new dies). On the other hand, private mints I have inquired of often want the die to be their property, which I don't like. It's a conundrum. Report this Post to the Staff
koinpro Pillar of the Community United States 1781 Posts	Posted 06/28/2023 7:23 pm publius. Quote: "I've only ever had one die made, in 2008, and it's within arm's reach at this very moment. I've been thinking about having another "private issue" struck, but it seems that there is no one uniform method of die-setting, so I wouldn't necessarily be able to go to a die-sinker, have dies made, and then shop around for the best deal on having pieces struck from those dies. Same applies to re-using my existing die (although what I'm thinking about doing now would be a different size and motif, so would require all new dies). On the other hand, private mints I have inquired of often want the die to be their property, which I don't like. It's a conundrum." Use Columbia style dies only. A high percentage of private Mints use them and they can be moved around. Make sure all your dies are the same diameter. I have them lathed to 1.52" and stick with it but I have many older dies that are 1.53 etc. I still slap them together and don't worry about it. Good Luck! Edited by koinpro 06/28/2023 7:24 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16827 Posts	Posted 06/28/2023 8:21 pm The numismatic term "shattered die" is normally applied to the actual coins or medals struck from the die as it semi-disintegrated, rather than to the dies themselves - though in this case, since the old disintegrated die was preserved, it's certainly appropriate. Which makes me wonder two follow-up questions: 1. Do any of the actual medals struck with this die show any die cracks that line up with the damage on this die, as harbingers of its imminent destruction? 2. Was another replacement die made to finish medal production? If so, are there any obvious differences in design, apart from the lack of die cracks? I'm thinking the "early 1990s" would have pre-dated high-tech CAD-made dies the Mint probably uses for medals these days, so any such duplicate die is likely to have many minor differences visible on the resultant medals. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
Cdncoins Pillar of the Community Canada 999 Posts	Posted 06/30/2023 09:24 am Interesting item. I wonder what caused this die to shatter? Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,124

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: General Numismatic Forums Forum: Tokens, Medals, Challenge Coins, and other Exonumia

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.4 seconds to rattle this change.