1917-S Typical Die Clash TDC-5C-1917S-01

Description

Documenting the characteristic die clash pattern common to the Buffalo Nickel series, TDC-5c-1917S-01 shows partial letters from E PLURIBUS UNUM transferred beneath the Native American portrait's chin, while lines from the throat and jaw of the obverse appear clashed into the motto on the reverse. Die clashes occur when obverse and reverse dies strike each other without a planchet between them, impressing design elements from each die onto the other's face. Subsequent coins carry ghost impressions of the opposing design. The Buffalo Nickel's high-relief design made the series particularly susceptible to clashes — the raised portrait and bison created prominent contact points when dies met face to face. James Earle Fraser's design, in its fifth year of production when this 1917-S was struck at San Francisco, produced some of the most visually dramatic clashes in American numismatics because the portrait's strong chin and jawline left bold impressions on the reverse. MadDieClashes cataloged this as a typical die clash, distinguishing it from rarer counter-clash or multi-clash varieties involving more complex sequences.

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