1984 Typical Die Clash TDC-1C-1984-01

Description

Submitted by Jeo Koelling and cataloged by MadDieClashes, TDC-1C-1984-01 records a typical die clash on the 1984 Lincoln Memorial cent. A die clash occurs when obverse and reverse dies strike each other without a planchet between them, transferring mirror-image impressions onto the opposing die face. On subsequent strikes, these transferred impressions appear as faint ghost images superimposed on the normal design. Approximately 5 degrees of rotation is seen between the clash marks and the actual struck design, indicating the dies were slightly rotated at the moment of the empty-chamber impact. Clash marks transferred to the obverse include elements of the Memorial architecture. On the reverse, a partial Y from LIBERTY appears in bay 2 of the Memorial — a familiar landmark for die clash identification on Lincoln cents. The back of Lincoln's head clashed below the left baseline of the Memorial, Lincoln's forehead clashed below the right side of the urn, and the 1 digit from the date transferred above the right side of the Memorial roof. Each transferred element provides a diagnostic checkpoint for attribution. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets at 2.5 grams. The images to the left show the clash marks that were transfered to the obverse die from the reverse ide.

External References