Posted 10/13/2009 08:47 am
Archraz I will not be 100% certain if it is real until I have the coin in hand.
There are many examples of early hand punched dies where the lettering distorts the dentils or some other adjacent feature. The 1835-1838 issues from Zacatecas have several examples of dies where similar distortions occur on originals. It happens whenever one feature is placed too close to another. Every time a punch is driven into the the surface of the die, there is a distortion of the die face that pushes the surrounding area upward. It is like the raised area around an impact crater. This upwhelling of die metal is then ground off when the die is finished. This finishing step REMOVES any details that were previously cut into the area that was raised up by the second impact.
Here is a skectch of how that happens:
There are many examples of early hand punched dies where the lettering distorts the dentils or some other adjacent feature. The 1835-1838 issues from Zacatecas have several examples of dies where similar distortions occur on originals. It happens whenever one feature is placed too close to another. Every time a punch is driven into the the surface of the die, there is a distortion of the die face that pushes the surrounding area upward. It is like the raised area around an impact crater. This upwhelling of die metal is then ground off when the die is finished. This finishing step REMOVES any details that were previously cut into the area that was raised up by the second impact.
Here is a skectch of how that happens:
