1988-P Jefferson Nickel - Sunken Die

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 8,637
CaptainFwiffo Pillar of the Community United States 4132 Posts	Posted 08/21/2011 12:53 am I found this nickel today (pictured next to a regular 1988-P for comparison). It looks like TJ is developing a bald spot. At first I thought it just an odd wear pattern obliterating the hair detail, but now I think it's some sort of die damage or large internal die break. If you look at how the hair detail leads into the area, it's clearly raised and not worn down. And the die is very late state and distressed. And it looks like there are flow lines going into the blobby area. What do you think? Edited by CaptainFwiffo 08/21/2011 1:12 pm Report this Post to the Staff

mikediamond Pillar of the Community United States 2738 Posts	Posted 08/21/2011 08:31 am This is a die subsidence (sunken die) error I wrote about some months back in Coin World. Amazingly enough, it is associated with more than one die. The top of Jefferson's head sinks in on the die face and simultaneously loses its details. Why this particular spot should be affected is unclear. It's possible that the affected dies were cut from a rod of die steel that had a longitudinal zone of weakness that extended down the rod. Error coin writer and researcher. Edited by mikediamond 08/21/2011 09:22 am Report this Post to the Staff
coop Bedrock of the Community United States 62064 Posts	Posted 08/21/2011 10:29 am It also appears that the die that made this coin is in later die states. The wear could affect this area as well. Report this Post to the Staff
mikediamond Pillar of the Community United States 2738 Posts	Posted 08/21/2011 11:25 am True. All of the specimens I've seen were later die states. However, I don't have enough of a sample to confidently declare when the sinking-in began. Many die subsidence errors start early in the life of the die. Error coin writer and researcher. Report this Post to the Staff
CaptainFwiffo Pillar of the Community United States 4132 Posts	Posted 08/21/2011 12:34 pm Thanks for the info! I found your article which features a 1988-P nickel and linked it in case anyone wants to read more about this error. I think I've seen others in the past, but they were fairly worn so I just dismissed them as wishful thinking on my part. Do these carry any kind of value? I looked for current and past listings on ebay and didn't find anything. Report this Post to the Staff
CaptainFwiffo Pillar of the Community United States 4132 Posts	Posted 08/22/2011 11:46 pm I just found another of these, earlier die state (although not nearly early die state) with the sunken area less advanced. It could be the same die even, though I do not really have the skills to determine that. There are some shared features, but that could easily be two dies exhibiting similar patterns of wear. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 5 / Views: 8,637

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