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...Looks like maybe the phenomenon also occurs on the bottom part of the shield as well?
Not seeing any below the banner. There are some roller lines and lite scratches.
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... don't mean to take away from feeder fingers not being used anymore...
The thread by Pete Apple stated "... and Dial Feeder (1836 to 1864 and 1895 to
present) ...", so it seems they are still in use. I would tend to go with Pete Apple's research and comments.
(I thought I read somewhere they weren't used anymore. Maybe a statement Silviosi?)
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... yours are thin, the link is thick, but they are going in the same direction and in the typical direction and areas they have been the whole time the shields have been in use....
(Hopefully I don't send the discussion off course with my observations.)
I agree with your assessment overall.
On modern cents, I was remembering FF die scrapes going NW-SE, being wide-ish, and smooth like the ones in the cuds-on-coins link.
Here's a thread by Coop with great images, showing the
Feeder Finger Damage going in both directions on Memorial cents and the same direction as mine on Shield cents.
http://goccf.com/t/336856I'm thinking out loud here, but it seems to me that the angle of the "lines" is too consistent to be anything other than Feeder fingers.
Polishing by hand (either holding the die to the tool or the tool to the die) might produce "scrapes" on the die surface, but the direction of the scrapes would be more random.
It seems feeder fingers would be more consistent and follow the same mechanical motion over and over and in the same direction.
It also seems feeder fingers could create the damage at any Die State, whereas polishing would only affect older die state dies that were being serviced and maintained.
Good discussion and thanks to all for the input and comments. They keep the brain engaged and thinking.
Words of encouragement are one of the major food groups.
We need to consume them regularly to thrive and grow.