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Professional
Life Cents Show Flaws
By Ken Potter After a major lapse
in time, I am again getting reports on major die
crack varieties found on proof coins. The latest
two are both on the Professional Life Lincoln
cent reverse and were found in August.
Thomas Baalman of Kansas reported the first one
to Numismatic News on Aug. 6. It features a
major die crack that runs from center of the
bushes at front right corner of the old Illinois
capitol building into the field, through the "T"
of CENT and the rim. He ordered two of the
regular 18-coin proof sets from the Mint and
found one in each set. I listed it in the
Variety Coin Register for the date, Mint and
type as VCR#1/DCR#1.
John Frye of Kentucky found another major die
crack on a proof version of this cent while
searching through three 18-coin silver proof
sets that he received from the Mint in early
August and found one with a spike-like die crack
that runs from the center of the bushes to the
right of Lincoln down into the field and through
Lincoln's left leg, (viewer's right), the tip of
his right shoe, through the left vertical of the
"N" of CENT and the rim. He found it on Aug. 17
when he decided to check over the three clad and
three silver sets that he owned. It was the only
one he found out of the six sets. He later
posted news of his find on the Internet coin
forum, Coin Community, and learned that another
collector within 20 miles of him had also
received one. I've listed it as VCR#2/DCR#2.
While there have been few sales from which to
establish solid values for major die cracks on
proof coins, I've previously estimated that
pre-2009 normal-design cents could fetch $150 to
$300. Because this is a special Bicentennial
design, either variety could fetch even more.
While die cracks on business-strike coinage
intended for commerce are generally considered
common and elicit little collector interest, any
prominent die crack on a proof coin is
considered collectible as they are rarely
encountered, though more have been showing up in
the past decade than ever.
However, it should also be noted that fewer have
been found in the past several years . The peak
years for this type of error are 2003, 2004 and
2005 with seven, 10 and nine major die break
proof varieties reported for each of those years
respectively. In contrast, there are only two
known to me for 2006, one for 2007 and three for
2008. Interestingly, major die cracks on proof
coins are known from every year from 1998
through 2009 except for 2001.
Die cracks are inherent to the use of die steel
and occur due to a variety of reasons. The
extreme striking pressure required to produce
proof coins is the most probable reason for die
breakage on these issues. Other factors such as
faulty die steel, improper heat treatment (of
the dies), etc., may be factors. It may also be
an indication that a die has been in service too
long and is starting to break up, though this
cause is usually associated with other die wear
problems and die crack progressions that we do
not see here.
Other causes of a mechanical nature are: the
striking of errors, in particular error types
that involve stacks of more than one planchet
(or planchets and/or coins) struck together by a
die pair, or off-center and double-strike
errors. Additionally, improper die set-ups, such
as tilted dies, loose dies, etc., have been
identified, as causes of die breakage.
Each proof coin requires a visual quality
inspection at the Mint before being placed on a
tray for further processing, or being rejected
and segregated from those that pass inspection
when flawed. Coins with die cracks as prominent
as these should have been easily spotted and set
to the side for destruction.
This author believes that die cracks on proof
dies are routine, but coins from them escaping
the Mint is not routine, even with the recent
increase in incidence. One cause of the greater
frequency of these coins reaching collectors may
be the great increase in collector coin
production since the inception of the state
quarter program and other programs that
followed. This greater demand for production of
very large numbers of designs appears as though
it may have taken its toll and resulted in more
errors of this type escaping the watchful eye of
the Mint.
I'd like to stress the fact that die cracks on
general business-strike coins made for
circulation are exceedingly common and rarely
elicit any significant collector interest or
value. They are the norm and rarely are
considered significant varieties or errors by
most advanced error-variety specialists.
However, they can be fun to find and collect as
long as one does not expect great financial
gain. They can also be educational to the
budding numismatist who takes the time to study
them.
The significant major die cracks highlighted in
this series are of the type that run from within
the central design all the way through the rim
to the very edge of the die. Such die cracks are
often deep and actually show a significant crack
along the shank of the die.
We'd like to thank Numismatic News readers who
have participated in this ongoing hunt for
"Spiked Head" and other major die cracks and
encourage them to continue. Please do not report
upon minor die cracks on business strikes as we
have been swamped with such reports and do not
have time to respond.
Collectors finding any of these die crack proof
coins or other errors are requested to report
them to me by e-mail at NNSpikedHeads@koinpro.com,
or at the address below. Always write first
before submitting coins. |