Pete Apple - Speared Bison and Wounded Eagle
The "Speared Bison" is a feature on some 2005-D Jefferson 5c Reverses.
The "Wounded Eagle" is a feature on some 2000-P
Sacagawea dollars.
I am aware of several leading error experts who identify the features receiving the nicknames of Speared Bison and Wounded Eagle as Die Dents as opposed to Die Scratches or Die Gouges.
If these are Die Dents, I have been asking myself what might be the source? The perpetrator will need to be essentially straight (with a slight curve) and also, the edge must be either flexible or at least curved enough to reach the deeper part of the die.
It seems to me that one candidate is the edge of the Hubbing Collar as it is removed from the Hubbing Press once hubbing is complete. The curve of the collar seems adequate to reach the deeper part of the die and also if it impacted the die at an angle, one side of the dent should show sharper than the other, as we see here.
The video this photo is taken from shows the collar being placed in the press just before hubbing. It would need to be removed once hubbing is completed and it is only a small stretch of the imagination to see the edge of the collar contacting the face of the completed die at an angle as it is being removed. I have drawn arrows to the upper and lower edges of the collar.
The possibility of this dent having been done in the way I described is supported by the feature actually having a slight curve to it (see photos with straight lines along the features), which would be expected if caused by contact from the collar, since the contact would only involve a tiny segment of the collar's curved circumference. Also, notice that the feature on the nickel is slightly further removed from the straight edge line on the body of the bison than it is above or below the bison. This, too, would be expected from such contact, since the area is deeper on the die and the collar contact would be at an angle.
A similar curved feature appears on the "Wounded Eagle" also, where it can be seen that the contact was unable to reach the deepest part of the die right beneath the upper wing.
Posted 01/26/2025 06:11 am
