Modern Day Coin Strikes From The US Mint

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,719
SteedaFLA Valued Member United States 54 Posts	Posted 02/19/2011 01:23 am I think I might be the minority when I bring up this subject, but is anyone else here kind of bummed out that starting near the around the mid 90's (I am not sure of the exact year), that the strikes on coins seem sort of weak? I notice this with almost every denomination, especially cents and halves. When I go through some wheat cents or even early 70's halves, I notice a nice strong strike with more visible high / low points than coins that were minted in the past 10 years. Does anyone else wish we had stronger strikes on all the newer coins that hit circulation, or am I the only one? Report this Post to the Staff

Kefiroth Pillar of the Community United States 1431 Posts	Posted 02/19/2011 01:32 am This has been discussed a lot in past topics. In a nutshell, coins these days are struck in lower relief to save dies from stressing too much, which enables faster production, which is necessary for the mint in order to churn out the obscenely high volume of coin that they deem necessary for the economic wants of our country. Also, since coins don't circulate as heavily as they used to (most just sit in jars, or in your dresser, or in a cash till) they don't need to be able to withstand too much wear and tear. Ehh sorry for the run-on sentence. Report this Post to the Staff
SteedaFLA Valued Member United States 54 Posts	Posted 02/19/2011 01:42 am Kefiroth, Thanks for the quick response and what you said makes sense. I just figured since they made millions (billions in some cases) of coins a year, they would still have a strong strike like some coins 50+ years ago. I do agree with you though about the circulation of the coins, based on the fact that I find myself using my debit card more often than cash. This is only a coincidence, but I was watching the Factory Made show on the Science Channel earlier today and they showed how they made quarters at the Philadelphia Mint. The dies that they had churning out the quarters were stamping coins at a ridiculous rate. Still though, very interesting to see how it all works! Report this Post to the Staff
DNA Pillar of the Community United States 2734 Posts	Posted 02/19/2011 01:47 am Worst/most affected: 2010+ Quarter Obverse. The George Washington bust is supposed to be a return to the original 1932 John Flanagan design, but their flat relief makes BU 1930's Washingtons look like UHR's by comparison. Cupro-Nickel coins do wear better in circulation than the old 90% silver coins did, so they don't need as much relief (strictly speaking). Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 188213 Posts	Posted 02/21/2011 2:52 pm I agree with what has been said. Low relief and low strike pressure equals higher speed and longer die life. 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
upstate Pillar of the Community United States 3283 Posts	Posted 02/21/2011 2:58 pm Except the nickels, those babies never looked better. Report this Post to the Staff
General Tso Valued Member United States 341 Posts	Posted 02/21/2011 3:36 pm The reverse side of cents are really bad. Top centers hardly come through. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,719

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